productivity

I just glanced over at my word counter on the right side of the page. I haven't updated it since June third. That's a long flippin' time. Not the longest I've gone without writing Thistleswitch, don't get me wrong. But it's the first time I've actually been keeping track.

It's sort of depressing.

Part of the problem is that I've been reading. And reading a good story makes me want to write, so badly that I can't quite decide if I'd rather finish the book or pull out my laptop.

"But, Jessica, isn't it helpful that reading makes you want to write?" you're probably thinking. And the answer, my friends, is NO. Not at all. Because when I read a fantasy story like Fire, my latest good read, it makes me want to write a story like Fire. Well, not like it in a copywright-infringement sort of way. Like it in a genre sort of way.

Thistleswitch and it's world are certainly not serious. There's alliteration bursting out of every sentence, and songs about toads dancing around blankets, and general mockery and tomfoolery. That's the way it's meant to be. It makes it a pleasure to write, don't get me wrong. Hopefully it will also make it a pleasure to read. But sometimes I'm just not in a mood for tomfoolery. At all. Sometimes I want to write something more romantic, or more bump-in-the-night, or more edgy. That's when I find myself working on other stories, even those that will never see the light of day, instead of the one that I actually plan to finish.

So, actually, I have written quite a lot since June third. I've written bits and pieces of at least three different stories that currently reside only in my head. I've written about characters like Audrey and Kella and Maddox, who it's possible that no one else will ever meet. I've written from the point of view of a doll, and the point of view of a teenage boy who cusses much more than I do. I've added two scenarios to my snippets Word document, full of random bits and pieces, odds and ends, plot possibilities and countless character traits.

Thistleswitch has been elusive, yes.
But it's been a productive month nonetheless.