Labotomy of a Writer

I recently got fired from my job. Great way to start a blog uh?

How about - Hi! My name is Anastasia and I'm 25 years old. Too cliche perhaps?

Frankly, I'm not sure how to start this blog, so I'm just going to wing it. Usually is the best way. So, yes, my name is Anastasia. I'm 25 years old, married, one son. Sound boring? That's because it is. My life is pretty standard. Just the three of us, a two bedroom apartment, trying to make it in this tough economy.

Speaking of which, did I mention I just lost my job? Wonderful Holiday present don't you think? Yea. So here I am, trying to make a blog that is at least semi-interesting. How am I doing so far? You can be honest. It won't hurt my feelings any.

My husband says that my opinions would be very interesting for people to read. He finds them amusing a least. (Seriously, laughs quite often at the things I say.) Granted this might be due to the fact that I am quite an odd ball myself. Seriously, I am.

So, I actually listened to the hubby and decided to give this a shot. Who knows - might make some cool friends on here!

**Originally posted on my other blog "Abyss of My Soul"**

Yes, the dreaded words of all writers - Writer's Block. I am a firm believer that it is simply a figment of the imagination, thus making it hard to overcome.

My recent block - I have many ideas - but none for "The Faery's Tale" So, I am stuck in the middle of Chapter Five. Actually, I should say I am stuck at the beginning as I feel the first few chapters are dragging away from the main plot of the story. So, I believe that once I can get past that part, Chapter Five will flow easily.

But what to do? Chapter One is rewritten now and much more "catching" I think. But then Chapters 2, 3, & 4 just seem to drag the story but at the same time it seems important to the story later on. So, what can I do?

Seriously - any thoughts? Just kidding! It really is just a matter of me letting go of the scenes. There is so much I could take out (if I was to be completely honest of course) that would not drag the story quite so much. I just need to buckle down and do it.

Which brings me to the main point of this particular post. Sometimes in writing and rewriting, you just have to let go of a scene or entire chapter, no matter how great it is. When writing, I try to ask myself "Does this really need to be here? Does this take away from the plot? Is this were I want to story to go?" Then of course, I need to be honest with myself and take out the scene if it is not needed.

So there it is, my advice for the day. Be honest with yourself when you are writing and rewriting - otherwise you'll end up with a case of Imaginary Writer's Block.

Yes, it has been a long time since I made a post. Life got in the way and I was unable to really concentrate on my novel. It's very sad and regrettable. But, instead of focusing on the past, let's just continue on with building the future.

During NaNo this year, I had the thought that my first draft NaNo was better than my 2nd or even 3rd draft novel of "The Faery's Tale" that I have been working on for years now.

So, suddenly tonight (the main reason for a new blog post) I had the thought to scrap everything I had written (and re written and re written), and start all over again. Now, I'm sure many of your are thinking "Why on earth would you do that!?" Well --

I started this story such a long time ago, that I feel in time it has become bogged down with useless details. "So why don't you just take them out?" Well, I would, but I can't seem to do it, no matter how hard I try. I think it's because I'm personally attached to the story itself, that I just can't part with some of the useless scenes, as I myself love them for their cuteness or humor or action.

So, I feel it would be best to start all over with just my character notes, like I would for a NaNo novel, and see what happens. If I ever get stuck, I'm sure I'll go back to the old version and see if I can use anything, but with a "new story" sort of thing, I'll be able to weed out and only use the important things. (At least that is the hope.)

Yes, my followers will now really follow the journey as I write "The Faery's Tale" - from the beginnng. Isn't that wonderful?