Have you ever held something fragile in your hands, like a porcelain doll or a crystal ball? Then dropped it. Watched it shatter against the ground into a million pieces. If you have, then I would imagine your initial response to the catastrophe would much resemble John Candy’s when he smashed a piece of fine china against a piano in the classic comedy, Uncle Buck. For those who haven’t had the pleasure of seeing this hilarious movie, his reaction was exactly what you’re imagining right now. It involves the utterance of a four letter “s” word, along with the frustrated swing of an arm.

A mistake. An understatement if there ever was one (especially if that fine piece of china was a priceless antique), “dropping the ball” perfectly describes my handling of this little blog. Between some busyness in my life, laziness, and other events, I unfortunately left this blog laying in pieces scattered across the floor. Somehow, I need to pick up the broken glass without cutting myself, and find a way to move forward. It’s not an easy thing to do, but let’s see what ideas can be had.

Do you know why I pulled you over?

When I started this blog, my goal was to keep it focused on writing. After all, my goal is to become a published author. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid. The news on this front, is mixed, but positive. First, the good news: I have a complete draft of my manuscript! If that wasn’t enough of good news, I’d also like to add: I’ve had two beta readers take a swing at the novel. While one still has three or four chapters to finish up, I have received positive feedback from both of them. Obviously, there is plenty of work to be done with the myriad of suggestions they’ve provided. But, the consensus between them is that the backbone of the story is solid.

The bad news on this front is that instead of hitting the pedal to the metal, I’ve eased up on the gas, and pressed down on the brakes. My momentum has slowed on the project to a crawl. Now in some ways, that is not a bad thing. Listening to other authors, after they finish their first draft, they set it aside for a few weeks/months before coming back for revisions so that they have a clear head. No argument here. But, my writing as a whole has slowed, not just on this specific novel.

Okay, what’s the problem?

At this point, I feel like I’m in that comfy looking sofa you always see in a therapist’s office where people lie down and spew out their problems. I don’t however, want to just spew out problems, without offering a few solutions. Because let’s face it, countless aspiring writers find themselves in this exact predicament. I’ve got a manuscript. I’ve got feedback. Now what?

Idea #1 Don’t Stop Writing!

Remember the first post I made here? What was it called? Oh yeah, “Just Write!” I think I may need to return to that post and give it another read. It’s very important to not break the flow of writing. After finishing my first draft, there certainly was a void in me. Mainly, I’d reached the end of the road for my draft, with nowhere else to go. A celebration was in order, as finishing a manuscript is kind of a big deal. But after that, where to?

There’s a couple of paths one could take (least that I’m seeing). One path being: if the story you’re writing is left open for a sequel, why not start working on it? It’s the perfect opportunity to flesh out characters, where their paths may lead them, or how to expand upon the world. My novel is one where I have it wide open for a sequel, and I do have notes started for a follow-up. Progress has just slowed. This is one option for me, and any others that find themselves in this same situation.

Another idea (whether it’s because you won’t be doing a sequel, or you want a break from that world you created) is to start something fresh. It doesn’t necessarily have to be another novel. It could be a short story, a poem, or even a blog post! Find some writing competitions or anthologies accepting submissions, and try to submit something. Get your name out there, and get more eyes on your work (even if that means rejections). I think here is where one can find a variety of sources for motivation to keep themselves going if they’re feeling a bit lost.

Finally, and I do think this is an important one (as contradictory as it may initially seem), is to find something other than writing to occupy your time and head-space. This sounds quite counter-productive to everything I’ve written. After all, wasn’t I just discussing how I’d “dropped the ball” on this whole blog? Well yeah, but at the same time, as writers, we don’t want to burn ourselves out on writing. Believe it or not, it’s good to step out into the real world from time to time.

For instance, I just recently built myself a new computer. How exciting is that! Well it’s very exciting, and very scary as it turns out. I was briefly worried I’d done something wrong when I couldn’t power the thing on in a test bench setup (basically meaning I was running the computer outside of the case). Fortunately, after connecting the power button from the case to the motherboard, I got the thing running and was able to resume with the work.

My point is, building that computer took time and energy. I needed to find a case, a motherboard, a CPU, a graphics card (took several summoning rituals for this one), and several other components. Then one Saturday later, I had myself a brand new computer. The time I put towards this project allowed me to focus on something other than writing. And in order to continue to write, we also need to be able to step away from our writing and do other things. It’s a balance, one I need to improve with.

With all that said, of course one still needs to return to that completed draft and eventually begin on the editing phase. Using a kanban board, note cards, or whatever works for you, to organize the issues that needs addressing will help in conquering your editing mountain.

Need more ideas?

If you are looking to step into a different world and need a place to start, there’s a few recommendations I would like to make. While I won’t retread old ground, I’ll briefly mention a couple of ideas here that people can use (including myself) to get themselves started on a writing project (or take an existing one into a new direction).

The first idea is: writing prompts. These come in many shapes and sizes. From character generators to basic story concepts, generators can be used to quickly provide topics for struggling writers to use as jumping-off points. They also make for great exercises in forcing you to think on your feet, and push your imagination into a specific direction. I remember participating in a writing panel a few years back at an anime convention. We were given an object, and had the duration of the panel to write a short fan-fiction using anime characters that somehow revolved around the given object. I remember taking almost the whole panel just to build a story around the given constraints. Over half of our time limit had passed before I even put pen to paper. I did manage to finish my little piece before the buzzer. Though I never saw that little story again, it was an experience I’ll never forget.

The other idea (and this I ran across more recently) is using an image generator to randomly generate images based off some keywords. Recently, a friend shared a website with me: https://app.wombo.art where you provide it with as many keywords as are allowed. You then specify a style of art, and click on the Create button. What happens next is almost magical. An image is generated through what I assume to be some form of AI. You may get some garbled gunk of a picture, or something that is truly inspiring. Regenerate the image as many times as you want, choose a different style, and when you’re satisfied, save the creation.

Results may vary. But just look at this image above that I was able to generate simply by specifying the following words: silhouette, girl, weapon, city, breath, and hell. It’s a mesmerizing picture that with a little creative thought, one could put together an action packed, edge of your seat tale. I’ve experimented with this site numerous times. It’s actually quite addicting. And it’s something I intend to play with in the future, and who knows, maybe could even lead to a full on novel someday.

Where things go from here?

From here, I need to work out how I should organize my time with projects. I of course want to continue my work on this blog. I have a few ideas for topics that I can write about. I just need to revisit what I already have noted down (along with discovering new topics). And if you have any ideas for things you’d like me to write about, please comment below.

I may occasionally post short stories here for everyone to enjoy. Perhaps I could start using the website listed above to generate some images and build stories out of those. Take that brain to the gym for some heavy lifting, so to speak.

All in all though, I hope that sharing some of my struggles, and some different solutions prove helpful to not only me, but some of you out there. Hopefully the next time we meet, it’s not another six months down the line. I don’t want to be shattering anymore plates.