One of those days

I've been juggling several projects recently. I'm excited about getting through another round of editing for The Old Royal. That just means it's inching closer to publication. I know there are some guys I work with who will be happy to hear that. But, alas...

On the tail of the good news comes some not-so-good news. Work on Rabbit on the Run has slowed to a stop. It seems my motivation to write dries up when I sit down to work on it. I'm still excited about the story. It just seems like Royal is sapping my motivation. Who knows? Perhaps when I get The Old Royal out the door things will pick up for Rabbit. This doesn't mean I'll let this story slip through the cracks. Hear me now and believe me later: I fully intend to complete this novel and have it published this year.

Of course, there is also Lathem's Lament to look forward to. I've already completed one editorial pass on that story, so I don't have to contend with creating something anew. This is perhaps the only occasion when editing isn't such a drag. After much thought, I've decided to release Lament and Rabbit simultaneously. I came to this conclusion after I realized that I was jumping around genres. Since it is a Southern Gothic and Rabbit also has similar characteristics, I've decided it would be best to release them together. That way, I can give my readers who want crime fiction a book while also reaching out to some new readers. Lament is a book I wrote several years ago and I refuse to see my efforts go to waste. Besides, I really like the story and think others will, too.

However, this post wasn't meant to be a status update. I wanted to express my frustration with the state of my writing. On the surface, it seems like I'm not being very productive. My blog posts are lagging, stories seem to be stalling in progress, I'm becoming distracted by external activities, and I've gained some weight. Yeah, I know, that last one has nothing to do with writing. But, it still sucks, especially since I was so good last year and lost 50 pounds.

Now that I give it more consideration, I think I'm just in a temporary funk. My writing hasn't really hit any brick walls. This is just a temporary mental thing that everyone experiences from time to time. I just need to stop dwelling on it and move on. I'm about to meet with a writer-friend for our weekly lunch where we talk about reading, writing, and practically anything else that interests us. I always enjoy our discussions because we're very like-minded. I'm sure it'll be fun and I'll get motivated again. Thanks for stopping by and listening to me rant. I promise, I'll try not to do this very often.