Almost Halloween...

Well, here it is almost Halloween and I'm no further along on the WIP than the last time I checked in. Amazing.

However, I do tend to visit many of my characters around holidays. It's actually kind of fun to look at the holiday through the lens of another. For those that have either read Soul of Evil or Tales of Bedlam, or have encountered the characters... well at least Nick... you'll understand why he'd come to mind this time of year. Those that have encountered him in some form or another would assume that this would be a favorite holiday for him... what with the dark and spooky and all. As Nick would say, assuming is tacky.

Dark.. I'll give that. He's a biiiig fan of dark. Spooky, not so much, though he does tend to smile scaring the hell out of someone. No, he's not a nice guy! He actually looks at Halloween from a slightly older stand point. It's a celebration yes, but it's also a time that he tends to reflect a bit. Yes, yes, in that dark broody way.

Of course there is a party and it's true to Nick. Elegant, expensive, classy and with a surprise for dessert. Yes, Nick knows how to dance... sheesh. Yes, people do clamour to attend it. He's oddly popular. Least you think him all dark, let me paint a picture for you.

He'd be dressed in deep green, creams and copper. Velvets and silks. A eye catching sight as he glides easily through the guests, glass in hand. Light from hundreds of candles reflect off his hair and add a sparkle to his eyes. Music playing delicately in the background.

Get the picture? Not the dark, spooky image I'm sure you had in mind.

However, even I cannot see him handing out candy to kids. It's not he has anything against kids, it's that he's not fond of candy frankly.  I also have a hard time seeing him attempting to carve a pumpkin. I think there would be a fair amount of hissing and lip curling frankly.

I, on the other hand, am going to be passing out candy tomorrow night. We don't get a lot of kids at my house, so the few that come by will get a handful. The weather and the fact it falls in the middle of the week kinda bone the holiday.

Who knows.... maybe some of the other characters will drop by... I never know.

Just popping in...

The spirit is willing but the flesh... not so much. Frankly with life being what it is I haven't gotten a lick of anything done on Restart. I mean nothing.

I'm now at the point where I look at myself and ask if I am really a writer... or if I just want to be seen that way so badly that I've deluded myself.

Aren't writers... real writers I mean... supposed to like writ frequently? At least every other day or so. That's sure what it seems like it's supposed to be. Me... I have all this life stuff going on... work and family and stuff. I never seem to be able to let my mind relax enough to actually go into creative mode any more.

So.. am I a fraud? Am I deluding myself? Who knows.... frankly at this point, who cares. I suppose eventually I'll get back to the writing... not that there is a major rush... I don't have people beating down my door for my work... hell... sadly my own family hasn't even read my first book.

I feel I'm a ... I dunno what... fraud I guess is the only word. I'm sharing this and it'd be nice if someone out there in cyber-space commented.... maybe gave me some hope or something, but I'm not holding my breath.

Another long gap I know...

Between life and the muse wandering off, things creatively have been quiet. This morning however feels different. I don't mean that there is this sudden uncontrollable urge to put 5,000 words together, but... I think I hear the Muse tip-toeing back.

She creeps in on feet of gentle silence and pale fog. She waits in the calm peace of home. She whispers softly in the calm gaze of cats. Yes, she is definitely nearby.

I woke up this morning, stretched, winced and got up. Typical morning stuff. Not a thought of writing or anything like that in my mind. I made coffee, fed cats and did post-op exercises.So far so good. Then it hit... I wanted to go get Krispy Kreme donuts for all of us! WTF? Oh well, why not, right? It was fun dressing and quietly slipping out of the house whilst the troops slept. A short drive, no traffic and decent tunes on the radio. Fantastic. I end up getting a dozen donuts (okay I had a generous, weak moment) and headed home.

Funny the things that trigger creativity. Taylor Swift on the radio... followed by Nickleback. I dunno.. just sort of got me mentally relaxed I guess. A sense of peace as I snuck... well tried to sneak... back into the house. Husbands can smell donuts apparently even in a deep sleep.

I touched base with the household... a.k.a. informed the teenager of the donuts. Note to self: possible alarm clock message for teenager. Through all of this the whisper in the back of my mind strengthened to write. With second cup of coffee in hand I leaned against the front door frame and just looked at the misty silence that is rare on our street.

So, here I now sit, writing this post and smiling. Teenager is back in its den, husband has yet to re-stir himself and the cat has taken over the watching out the door, and I... I write this little thing. It's a start... again.

I dunno... I write these bits of things in the vague hope that they will help someone along their own writing journey, or more realistically because I want to write, even if it isn't my WIP.

Back on track...

Well, that was a fun break. Time to get writing again though. The past couple of days I've actually gotten work done on Restart. Amazing, I know.

It's been hard to get back in the swing though, with so much going on around me. First there was end of school year and camping. Followed by several doctors appointments and wondering when things would arrive from the East. Then there was... oye! I think we get the picture. Needless to say a good portion of those things are resolved. My house looks like I'm moving (though in or out is hard to tell) and I still have pending things but... I can write. Which means I've done all the outside stuff I can.

It's nice to get lost once more amoungst the streets of Seattle and in building this story. I forget how relaxing it is. Oddly, if I get nothing else done during the day, if I have made some progress on the story then I feel like I've done something good.

Dusk is falling as I write this. I look outside and see the growing purples of the evening and I am content. It wasn't much writing, only a page or so... but it was writing. In the end, that's what really counts.

As Scarlett O'Hara would say... "Tomorrow is another day."