During the summer, my creative energies are not usually at their zenith. The heat and humidity take their toll on my energy and attitude, plus I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which complicates things further in that I get depressed during the warmer months. Sometimes, work is good therapy for someone in that condition, and I am no exception…but after I wrote the first of the three stories I had planned for this trilogy, I just couldn’t get into writing any more at this time. In Search of Ellen, the story I did complete, turned out fine, but for the first time, I’ve experienced a project going stale on me. No amount of discipline or drive seems to be able to overcome this roadblock, so I’ve officially shelved JMM for a later production date. No idea when that will be, but I do know that it’s no use forcing it when the muse isn’t around. Perhaps mine is on vacation, like everybody else.
This is not to say that I have writer’s block. I don’t. I simply have no initiative to work on the project at hand. I was halfway through writing Her Father’s Name, the second story in the trilogy, and my momentum slowed to a dead halt. Maybe it’s that I’m more of a dialogue/playwright than a prose writer. Frankly, it’s a lot of work describing things and people’s movements and dressing it up so that it’s as entertaining as the action and speech of the characters. I guess I would rather just focus on the brass and tacks of what makes a scene. There are writers who work almost entirely in dialogue–in short story/novel format–so I might look into reading some of their books and try adapting their style to mine, eventually.
For now, I have decided to dust off the manuscript of WeeWee and Somebody, and to revise and edit it. This draft will incorporate the changes and suggestions offered by my proofreader, as well as my own, and will involve thirty pages total of cuts. First manuscripts, according to my research, are almost always too long, so I aim to do something about that before I move on to submission.
In August, I would like to do another Trinket Production–either a short book or a short film. I need a fresh project, a new perspective, and renewed inspiration, and I have several ideas tucked away in the Trunk. In September, I plan to start writing the play for which I have been laying groundwork for two years, Closing Night. I’m very excited about that.
