Saturday, February 27, 2010

Something's gotta give...or does it?

This is insane.

I apologize for the lack of blog posts as of late, but I'm trying. I'm really trying. It's just that getting bogged down with a bunch of other crap, and this has been put on the backburner. And it drives me nuts.

I'm busier now than I was during the holidays, and that's saying quite a bit. As a sports reporter, the holidays are loaded with tournaments and all kinds of stuff to fill one's plate. And then there's the shopping. And the traveling. And the family stuff. And I was working on a novel.

But the aftermath of the new year has been that I have less time than I did in November and December. And that's a problem from this blog's standpoint.

The reason this bugs me so much is because there is nothing that makes me happier than when I'm writing or working on something I've written, or working on this blog. I'm a happier person when I'm writing and blogging regularly. I can feel the difference.

I can't add to the 24 hours in a day (I checked. That number's pretty set in stone). So I have to prioritize things. It's tough juggling this stuff, but I gotta do it. There is still time to do all of the things that I want to do, but I have to spend more time on the things that stop me from losing my marbles.

So expect to hear more from me than you have lately. Even if the ramblings get a little berserk.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Going in reverse

I'm a mess.

I've finished one run through of edits on the ol' first draft (or would it be a second draft now?), and I feel like I haven't really gotten anywhere, except more confused.

Starting up the editing process from Chapter 1 all over again had me feeling a little confused, but I wasn't ready for the rewrite quite yet. Or didn't feel ready. I know that the dang thing will certainly need to be rewritten, at least one more time, but I don't know if I've got the right direction to do it right now.

And I've tried, trust me. To me, it seems a little counter-productive to write a bunch of stuff, only to highlight it all and smack the delete button. After two hours of that, when I'm left with nothing but my same old work in progress, and that damn blinking cursor staring at me.

So I'm going to do what I always do when something frustrates me. I'm going to slice it up one more time. I'm editing this bastard again before rewriting, but I'm doing something different this time around. I'm not starting with Chapter 1 and plowing through my story again. I just did that.

This time, I'm starting at the end, and rewinding. Last paragraph first, and working my way backwards.

Hopefully, this gives me a different perspective on things, and it helps me out of my mini-funk here.