Buffet in the Dark

One of the major issues affecting my writing progress is the "stab in the dark" approach I've been taking over the past 13 years. I started off with two drafts of a silly mystery novel that I made a lot of mistakes on and eventually filed in my round file as my "training novel". I took the one element I still liked from that manuscript and developed my second novel as an adult crime thriller that needed several drafts before I was happy with my plot and my writing, although not both together. It still needs one more major rewrite to correct the sequencing of the plot.

However, coming towards the end of the draft I have now, I realised that I no longer wanted to write realism. And certainly not crime. Somewhere between eagerly starting a detective novel because of my love of mystery books and picking up my first fantasy novel, I fell hopelessly out of love with the detective genre. I can no longer even bring myself to read even those authors I know I used to enjoy. I suspect the problem arose while doing research into authors who wrote books that were "similar" to what I was writing. I read a lot of rubbish doing that research - published rubbish. And there is nothing more demoralising than working your butt off on a novel and opening a similar book in a bookstore when the poor quality of the writing on the first page makes you want to hurl the book across the store.

So while I was half-heartedly submitting a novel I would eventually realise still needed more work, I began writing a science fiction novel, which stalled for a reason I'll get into in another post. But my muse decided we wanted to write a children's fantasy story, and since I was making no progress on the science fiction book anyway, I decided to comply. Now I'm on book two of what has become a trilogy, but I'm wondering how on earth I will manage to sell three books when it is hard enough to get anyone interested in just one. On top of that, my muse has come up with a new children's story that covers a series of five books. And the science fiction novel has also spawned three prequels - just for fun.

So here I am with a lot of ideas I really want to get working on, and yet I'm demotivated because their very nature makes them unlikely to be wanted. I feel like I'm at a buffet in the dark, going by touch and smell and enjoying what I'm tasting. But in the back of my mind I wonder if I'm at the right table, or even on the right side of the room. I fear someone will turn on the lights and I will find that all the chocolate is on the other side and I've missed out. And now the buffet is closed - I have to stick with what I have on my plate.

So I've signed up for the Think Sideways course I mentioned earlier in the hope that it will help me figure out which side of the buffet I need to be on, and perhaps how I can move around and grab some dessert as well as mains.

You can click here to go find out more or join the class. This is an affiliate link and you'll be helping me if you buy through my link.

Buffet in the Dark
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2 thoughts on “Buffet in the Dark

  • Thursday at 3:55 PM
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    Sounds like you are at the same buffet as many of us creatives. We have many great ideas, but need that funnel vision people talk about to help us narrow down what project we should focus on. Sounds like signing up for the class may help you clarify your thoughts and direction. I’ve favorited this blog and wish you lots of luck.

  • Thursday at 3:57 PM
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    I think you should just go for it regardless of whether or not you think a trilogy or series will sell. I do believe we should write about what we are driven to write about. I think the end result is much more satisfying both for the writer and the reader. Go for it, my dear. I have faith in you!

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