But lately I've been dissatisfied with my ideas in general. I don't want just any story idea. I want one with that special something, you know? It doesn't have to be unique, or pretty, or smart. It does have to resonate. I have to feel it in my guts, get that special tingly thrill, and when I work on it, have unnoticed hours go by before I look up from the page.
Long walks and hot baths are in order. In the meantime, I've got my novels. I can live there happily for a very long time. Still, it would be nice to have a short story come grab me by the throat before Tuesday's write-in with my writing pals. I'll be looking at contests, prompts and anthologies in an attempt to spark something in time for that. If none of that does the trick, I'll just have to work with what I've got.
I want to produce, which means that I must produce. Letting vague feelings of dissatisfaction get in the way of writing might lead to a habit of waiting until I 'feel right' to write, which might eventually grow into full-blown short story block. I love writing shorts, and I don't want to go a really long time without writing one. It's incredibly satisfying to write something and have it done in a month (sometimes even in a day!) and a great way to break a pattern of rhythm in a rut that can sometimes form when I'm working on novels, or worse, a single novel, every day all day. As fun as it is to be immersed in a novel, there's a constant danger of complacency. When I'm complacent, I'm more forgiving and apt to overlook things. It's much more fun to work on a short story for a while and come back to the novel than to do the only other thing I've found to break the highway hypnosis, and that's to work from the back of the book forward. I can do it, but I'm not real fond of it.
So that's where I'm at with writing these days. That and trying to ditch this cold. Oh, and I have a couple of short stories that are 'overdue.' I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
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