Entering the Dreaming Sea

 The process of getting back into writing after a hiatus has never been an issue for me in the past, but the transition back into writing mode this time around has absolutely confounded me. It wasn't an issue of my skills getting rusty or losing my magical author superpowers. Motivation was my biggest barrier. With the continued pandemic I didn't really feel like writing another book to throw into the void. 

The release of Maestra has been successful but online sales will never equate to the experience of being in front of people, discussing my writing, and selling my work. It's validating of all the time and money investment that I put into my craft. I love creating art but there is an endorphin rush from selling my art, too. I have been that way for years with my other crafts that I create. Without the ability to get out there and physically sell my books I struggle with motivation. Occasionally I get a nice message from a reader about how much they love my book and that really gives me a nudge, though. 

Mental focus has been another issue. With so much happening in the world around us, and in particular the dumpster fire of hate and vitriol that is the political climate in the United States, it has felt really hopeless to attempt to do anything other than sit on the couch and wait for inevitable doom. They say to surround yourself with positive people in your life but I have very few of those around me. So, it's up to me to buoy myself back to the surface when life throws rocks at me. I am learning to dodge, even at 44. 

I've made two attempts to get back into writing on this new project and failed twice. I managed to scratch out a couple of chapters but finding a rhythm was impossible with so much noise going on around me. An attempt early last week resulted in me writing the hottest garbage I have created since middle school.

Yesterday I actually woke up with the spirit of writing back inside me. I had a productive morning session and a productive evening session. I wrote more than 2,300 words and have my story focused on course. Draft one of The Dreaming Sea is going to be different. It's going to be more of a skeletal outline than my previous works and may require an extra draft in process to get it all fleshed out. Normally I do three passes but this being a science fiction work it is going to need an extra level of pizzazz to get to a standard that I'm happy with. It's different from writing horror. Killing people is easy. Keeping them alive and giving them hope is hard. 

Also, today is the last day to get a free copy of Maestra on Kindle here! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08H24LB12

Cheers!