Each of us has faced a loss of momentum in our careers, and likely each of us will face it again in the future. It is part of a natural ebb and flow of our own creativity. Outside events can also affect our momentum, taking time and mindshare away from the stories we are telling.
My own personal loss of momentum has been because of my vacation. I’ve scheduled this post to publish while I am sailing on a cruise ship to Cozumel, Mexico. (I may be docked–it is 3:00 in the morning, after all.) In the run up to my vacation, I had so much on my mind that there was little, if any, room for my muse. We had warm-weather clothes and toiletries to buy, boarding to arrange for the dogs, laundry and packing to do. The part of my mind that was devoted to spinning yarns and knowing my characters was now being used to make mental lists.
I’ve also been working on some articles and queries and preparing for a new non-fiction book. Those projects take direct time and energy away from my fiction. But I believe they are valuable because (a) the more writing I do, the more chance I have to practice and hone my craft and (b) these have the potential to provide income. Income is good.
Finally, I’ve been kind of inundated with vampire stuff, and I think I need to step back from that topic for a bit. I have another novel idea I’ve been kicking around for a while. It has been nudging itself to the forefront, as the current vampire overexposure wearies me. I think after I come back from Mexico refreshed, that I might stick my vampire novel in my story stems folder and begin working on the other idea. (Story stems? What are story stems? Check my Thursday post for a link to find out more about this idea.)
How do you deal with loss of momentum?
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