What Was Old Is New Again

Copied from my Facebook post:

Okay, so I'm really liking the way this novella is going. I feel almost guilty for it, because it's a retelling of an old faery tale, so I barely have to plot, other than the twists I'm throwing in for the fun of it. This is not taxing my abilities as a writer, but it's fun.

Just for the Fun of It

I'm off to a good start on a novella meant to be the retelling of a faery tale. I like the way it's looking so far, and I like the twists I've planned to put into the original storyline. Yes, it's traditional fantasy in a medieval setting, but I happen to like traditional/medieval. It's nice to write something now and then just for the fun of it, and not because you're chasing the "hot" market trend from two years ago. The nonfiction is also going well enough; it has to go at its own pace, so I alternate it with the fiction. It's also kind of fun because it's a departure from anything I've ever done before and I never know exactly what will happen with it.

I'm done waiting on the market. I'm just going to write whatever I love and if the market wants it, then great. I'm actually pretty lucky--I have always written the books I love. I have only chased trends if I also happened to have a novel idea that played into a current trend but was also an idea I loved. I think deciding not to write that other novella last month helped me realize that whether I have a published novel yet or not, I've been doing the right thing. If I don't love whatever I'm writing, it won't be very good anyway. Writing is a lot of work; I might as well enjoy it. My day will come. It's only a matter of time, and I know that day is not far away now. I can feel it.

Seeing It Through

One of the Moxie is almost finished with her novel, and we're very happy for her; it's been a great adventure, as this is her first finished fantasy novel. Two of us are working on novellas that technically have the same deadline, although our personal deadlines are different. It's nice to have people to whom you can be sort of accountable; i.e. they know what your personal deadlines are and will know if you miss them. That's also where the regular writers' meetings come in handy. I don't think I could write in a total vacuum. Something would be missing without even the small bit of accountability that a writers' group provides.