• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Elizabeth Drakes's Site

Fantasy Romance

  • Blog
  • Books
    • Knights of Valor
    • Dragon King
  • Sign Up
  • About

Doubt Demon

Writing: When My Muse Writes a Check I Can’t Cash

January 29, 2020 by Elizabeth Drake

I am contemplating writing a trilogy. Okay, my muse is contemplating it. My brain is saying this is just silly. My muse wants not just three books set in the same world, as most of my work is, but three books that build on each other with an overarching story.

ChallengeAccepted2
Yeah, I think this is bigger than I can chew, too.

But I am hesitant.

I hate it when authors don’t wrap up a story in a single book. I want a beginning, middle, and end. Not that each book I’m planning wouldn’t be stand alone, but there would be something bigger than wouldn’t be resolved until the end of the three stories.

More than that, though, this is a much larger and more ambitious project than any single book. It means crafting six characters, three romances, and having it all work together in a cohesive whole.

It means stretching myself to something I might not be able to do well.

The doubt isn’t helping the creative process.

Demon
Remember him? He’s my Doubt Demon.

Every time I throw these characters into the sandbox of my imagination, they fizzle. While the romances have been working out well, the plot feels weak. The characters roll their eyes at their author-god.

I am in the middle of revising two other novels, so my brain is very much in analytical mode. That doesn’t help, either.

Perhaps I am trying too hard on this. Maybe there is a way to write their stories without so much complication.

Or maybe I should stop worrying, write the series, and let myself fail. Give myself permission to create something terrible, then give myself permission to try to make it better later.

ChallengeAccepted1
Maybe…

Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: challenge, creativity, Doubt, Doubt Demon, muse, revision, romance author, Romance Novel, Romance Writer, triligogy

Burned Out

July 5, 2017 by Elizabeth Drake

I am burned out.

candles

I have been burning the candle at both ends, and as so many have said before, you can’t do that forever.

I’m a mom, corporate employee, spouse, writer, and person who exercises.

I just can’t be all of it the way I want all the time, and I’m paying the price.

 

w1
And here I gave up coffee…

I am no longer finding joy in writing.

I’m finding less happiness in blogging.

All of the branding and social media is exhausting. A more extroverted person might not find it so, but that’s not me. Few writers seem to be natural extroverts, though they do exist, and this whole use of personality to connect with readers is starting to seem spurious at best.

So, I unplugged. I took several days off of all social media, and no one missed me. Makes me think social media is a lot less social than its name implies.

workagain

I haven’t exercised in over a week.

Rather than feeling tired and run down, I’m actually feeling better. Maybe the break was needed.

I haven’t written in 5 days. Not even over the weekend. It felt good.

No guilt at sneaking in a few words while the kids were playing or while I was doing housework. No race to the computer once the kids were in bed.

I don’t know what this means for me long term. Perhaps it’s the wake-up call I need to get my priorities straight and realize I can’t do everything I want and need to do.

images (1)

I’ve spent the last 2.5 years working on my writing. The last 1.5 years adding a blog and other social branding to the mix. I have yet to publish a book. I don’t even have an agent.

A growing part of me says to self-publish and be done. Put the work I’ve already done out there and walk away. But I can’t do that without feeling disingenuous.

If my self-published work fails, which it most likely will, I won’t know how it could have done if I pushed forward and kept up the branding. If I had a back list. Or if I’d tried, really tried, and succeeded in landing a publisher like Avon that know the Romance market.

I’ve walked away from writing before. Many times before. It demands so much, and there are so many other things in life that need me.

Demon
Is this the doubt-demon making an appearance? Again…

Perhaps I just need a break. A chance to catch my breath. To ignore my muse for a while so she’ll want to come back (she can be fickle like that).

Or maybe I need to take a long break and ease back. I already know I will never be a full time writer. We depend on my corporate America income.

 

Have you ever come to a point where you know something has to give? Where you’re feeling frazzled, burned out, and like you aren’t always present in the moment? What did you do about it? What choices did you make? How did you deal with it?

Filed Under: Uncategorized, Writing Tagged With: branding, Burned Out, Corporate employee, Doubt, Doubt Demon, exercise, guilt, Mom, Priorities, Social Media, spouse, Unplugged, writer, Writing

Footer

Connect with me on social media

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Looking for something specific?

Copyright © 2022 · Author Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

 

Loading Comments...