I Can Breathe Again...thank you Zoey

So, as I mentioned in a previous post, I'm working on a new project. When I first came to terms with the idea of shelving David Thorne for now, I was a bit iffy about it; after all the time, blood, sweat and tears that went into putting together this book, I felt like I was turning my back on myself, and it hurt.

But, as I've always said, for me writing is like breathing. I have to do it, and in trying to get DT out there through the ever-fun-and always-eventful process of querying, I've lost my way and forgot to breathe.

Well, recently, I've been hard at work on this new project, a YA paranormal series, and for the first time since I finished writing DT, the wheels of my imagination are once again on the move, and it feels fantastic! I'd forgotten how good this feels. I'd forgotten how amazing it is to be driving somewhere, or lingering in a hot shower as new and exciting ideas ran through my mind. I'd forgotten what it's like to be anxious to get back to the keyboard and start pounding out the stories of characters that existed only in my head.

I'm sure every writer goes through this--whether once or every time they finish a book--and they spend more time trying to get it out there than they do working on a new book. Though you hear all the time that a write should always be writing, I think it's more of a personal decision how a writer goes about bringing their ideas to life. But in the end, regardless what others say writers should do, or how they should do it, it's a lesson I think every writer should ultimately learn on their own.

As for this new book, it's so funny because ever since I finished DT, I've had so many ideas, but for some reason none have stuck, and I couldn't understand why; they were--and are--all so great, as far as ideas are concerned. But none were leaving me in a state of perpetual thought and obsession, which is what I felt during the writing and creating of DT (and the entire series that followed it). But now, I'm here again, feeling my mind wandering to this new book, getting distracted, forgetting to do things, all because this is the story I've been waiting for ever since DT was first completed. And it feels incredible.

So to all writers out there who, at some point, find themselves stuck, or to those who find they've lost their way and have paid more time trying to get their work out there than they have actually writing, I say, just stop for a moment and breathe. If it's truly in your blood, you'll find yourself again, and when you do, you'll remember what it's like to be alive.