Internal vs External

When you're telling a story, there are two major struggles you take into account: the external struggle (all the exciting stuff that happens on the page - physical battles, etc) and the internal struggle (all the more or less invisible character-building that goes on as a result of all the physical, external stuff).

Today I am trying to get my writing groove back after weeks of an appallingly unfriendly work schedule, and it is not working. At all. Not the way I want it to, anyway. All I seem to be able to focus on is my main character's internal struggle, which is nice and all, and kind of important, but really, really boring to read about. And I don't seem to be able to connect anything internal to the external.

Bleah.

I'm going to blame my lack of thyroid meds for this, turn off the computer, and go think about something else. I need to get ready for work anyway - hooray for closing shift. Will work my way back into this.

Not Dead Yet; Writing Progress

I just feel like it. Have I mentioned how evil retail work is? It is. Very evil. Especially the crap hours. And the pay. And the customers. And the pay. And the hours. (Fingers crossed for tomorrow's interview.)

But I digress. Point being: not dead, just random. Thank you, jobs.

Despite the crappy work schedule, I have managed to get some writing done on work-in-progress #1, Rogues' Hollow (henceforth WIP:RH).* Which is awesome, because I have had the world's worst case of writer's block with this sucker for months. Like, 10 months. Maybe more. I lost count. However, last week (is it really only Tuesday??) I made a breakthrough and things have been flowing since, knock wood, turn around three times and spit.

I should explain: I've had the rough draft written for some time now, and make no mistake, it is rough. Frankly, it sucks. So I've been pulling the thing apart, tearing things down and rebuilding them for an age now trying to fix what's wrong and throw away the stuff that can't be fixed. It's been a great learning experience.

Because I'm ADHD, structuring anything, be it work, the novel I want to write, or whatever, is one of my biggest challenges. I've gotten really good at organizing at work, but it took years of practice. Writing? Ha. Even though I've known basically the story I want to tell, I have had an inordinate amount of trouble trying to put the thing together so that it works. (I'm sure this problem is not unique to ADHD, but trust me, that doesn't make it any easier.)

Then I got really, really lucky and found Holly Lisle's workshops for writers. I've been working with them for a couple of months now and absolutely love them. Maybe they're not for everybody, but they've really helped me break things down into manageable bits until finally, breakthrough. Here's hoping it keeps up. Shall I post progress reports?


*I actually have several WIPs all of a sudden. Here's the breakdown:
WIP:RH - Rogues' Hollow. Contemporary fantasy.
WIP:SC - Stupid Cupid. Murder mystery.
WIP:NB - The one with the French (Corsican) dwarf that doesn't have a title yet. Mangled history, but lots of fun.
WIP:HG - the Herb Garden. Not actually a WIP, but I do have a notebook devoted to it. Trying to design an herb garden to plant if spring ever comes to this forsaken wasteland of a state.