Why Aren't I Writing?

I've been so inundated with starting a new business that I haven't been able to write. I've "put it aside" for now. I've been told this is not a good idea. I've been told that even if I write for 5 minutes a day, that is better than not at all. I've been told it's a habit you must form. And I believe all of that, I really do!

My "problem" is that I can't just write for 5 minutes. I pick up where I left off in my novel and I get involved with the characters. I do research, I find that something I'm writing does not support something I wrote 10 pages earlier or I forget what I wrote 10 pages earlier!

So right now I'm focusing on my new biz. And I'm reading. I'm reading a friend's novel - before it's published, which is really great! Not only is the novel itself great but it's great that she asked me to read it because she values my opinion AND it's great for motivation!

I don't have to finish my novel tomorrow. I will finish it at some point in the not too distant future because that's the most important thing - to finish. I learned that when I used to write screenplays. Make sure you finish. Starting is the easy part. And of course I already have ideas for my next 2 novels and will admit I did start one of those - but very briefly! Another "rule" -- don't start the next one until you finish the first one!

One thing about the way I write that may not be the same as other people is that I get it all down first and then I edit (rewrite and rewrite and rewrite again). I used to worry about this until I heard Anne Lamott speak about her worst fear being that she would die after a first draft of a book was written and everyone would think she was a horrible writer. Her writing she admitted was in her rewrites. Or - her brilliance, as I like to think of it. I'm the same way. I get it all down and it sounds like it was written by a 5 year old. Then I rewrite over and over and with each rewrite my writing IQ goes up. Luckily it's not that way for me with non-fiction - blogging and such - only with fiction.

According to Anne Lamott it's best to get through your complete first draft before rewriting or you may never finish. When I first started this novel over 10 years ago and it was a very different novel back then - I re-wrote the first 50 pages ad nauseum. And they were good but the next 50 pages were awful. And the problem was that I didn't work on finishing the book, I worked on the rewrites. So this time I'm not rewriting until I'm done and I'll be honest, it's really difficult for me and looking back on what I've written is almost painful!! It's that bad!!!

So here I am, close to a month into my new business and close to a month of not working on my novel. It helps to tell on myself!!

"Begin at the beginning"

Who said the best place to start is at the beginning? I looked it up and found an Alice in Wonderland quote: "Begin at the beginning," the King said gravely. But to begin at the beginning seems far too tedious. Not boring mind you, not boring at all - for my stories, and I have a lot, are entertaining, colorful and not without scandal.

Instead however, I'll begin at the beginning of this particular blog. Kimberlee Anne. I have too many blogs and can't keep up with any of them so it's perfect that I'm starting yet another. It's because I wear so many hats. I have so many things that I'm passionate about and I try to keep them all separate.

There's my 9-5, the way I earn my living, which I LOVE. There is my "pipe dream" which is not easy work and costs me much more than I've earned doing it but it's so rewarding I can't yet stop. My travel bug, why not have fun writing about that? The "workout" part - different from most but gaining more and more popularity every day. But still - first and foremost, ever since I was in 1st grade - my love for writing.

This is to be my writing blog, my writers blog, my authors blog. Motivation, preoccupation, enthusiasm and determination.

I started a novel long ago, 12 years ago to be exact and am now revamping it. About 6 months ago I realized I wanted to take a try at romance writing. I picked up my old, discarded novel and found it already was a romance novel.

The bulk of my writing background is in Film and TV. I wrote and rewrote and rewrote again - a screenplay. I've written treatments for other screenplays as well as a trailer that was shot. But I earned a living writing for TV for over 10 years. It was a love/hate relationship.

I have a BA in screenwriting and production, an MS in something else and a whole lot of unrelated experience in between the two.

I've journaled consistently since I was in the 5th grade. I wrote my first biography in 1st grade and it was published in the school newspaper. I think that if I'd had the discipline I would have been a professional fiction writer long before now.

I'm still not disciplined but I'm motivated. I started by taking an online romance writers class. I've completed all except the final lesson and I've had fun doing it. I enjoy working on my plot and characters. For research I'm reading a handful of other romance novels but what I've always loved is literature and chicklit so those I check out of the library and listen to on CD while I drive. I drive a lot.

It could be ADD, having a new passion every 5 minutes but I spend hours each week pursuing all 4 of mine. Whatever it "could" be, what it "is" is FUN!!!