Just a short update today–I’m posting from my phone, and my hen-pecking is out of practice. ^_-
What am I working on this week?: Trying to bash out a fun short story, and maybe–maybe–get another short story submitted.
What’s inspiring me this week?: Actually, it’s Katrina’s novel! Man, it’s really made me realize how I need to focus on scenes in a more focused manner–I think I often luck out with writing scenes that function properly, but in the outline I’m working on, I tend to get a bit more wishy-washy on the goals/emotional track I need to take. (And yeah, I definitely freaked out at one point, but it’s just a testament to how invested katrinacolderick had gotten me in her characters! :D)
And PBS is replaying the Great British Baking Show again! Mmmm…I’ve never been much of a baker, but it makes me want to make breads and fancy cookies, biscotti, cakes, and petit fours! There’s a part of me that’s absolutely obsessed with the idea of making baguettes…
What am I avoiding?: Reworking the ending of a short story. It’s practically submitable, but the ending still isn’t quite right, and there are one or two other places that feel off, but for some reason I just cannot figure it out, and its driving me crazy. I don’t mind hitting a point of “good enough” to submit, but I do struggle with letting go of a story even when I’m legitimately unhappy with parts of it. I’m very aware of the competition for these publication slots, and I just hate the idea of letting my sense of urgency to submit overwhelm my gut instinct. There’s no specific deadline on this one, so there’s no real pressure other than my own need to get things out again regularly. It’s just the gut alarm shrieking “Not Ready!” So I’m a bit stuck, but I’ll try a few exercises with it this week to see if I can untwist the kinked hose of inspiration on this one…
Maggie Slater 