I’ve been working on this draft of my changeling story since, oh–hold on, I have to do 2020 math. Uh, February? I’d better check.
March. Or maybe April. I finished my scifi horror story in March and I don’t recall if I moved right on or took a break.
As of right now, the changeling story sits at 45K of an estimated 75K, though I think it may be running a little short. Which is fine! Revision exists. But anyway, we’re past the halfway point. In theory, we’re past the worst of the drafting process, because we should be in the home stretch and heading straight toward climax city.
But it’s not. I mean, it could be. But I’d have to actually be working on the story.
I’m not, though. In fact, I seem to be doing every other conceivable thing but working on the changeling draft.
Last month I wrote about 5K on the changeling story. The rest of the time I:
- created all the slides for a SkillShare class, then recorded and edited the videos to go along with the class
- wrote three short stories
- made a blooper reel of SkillShare outtakes
- read seven books
- took a class on writing video game story
- took a drawing class
- signed up for a writing challenge
This month isn’t going much better. It’s the eleventh, and I haven’t touched the changeling draft at all. Instead I handwrote 3 pages on my luddite story, plotted out two short stories, and have mostly been sketching random things and sometimes reading.
I can’t quite figure it out. It would be one thing if I were having issues with the changeling story, but I’m not. Are there things that definitely need to be fixed? Oh, yes. Some big ones.
But in general the writing is flowing (when I do it) and the plot is continuing apace. There is no conceivable reason I have for avoiding it and literally doing everything else on my to-do list around it.
I want it to be done. I mean, I know it’s only been four or five months, which is about average for a first draft for me, but there’s no reason it’s not farther along. I want it done before Nano (or even before October, so I can plot Nano) so it can rest and I can pick it up again after Nano’s done. Totally doable, if I would just do it.
Thoughts, squiders? Ideas on why I’m avoiding it when there’s no obvious reason to do so?
