Writing Withdrawal

Hello all,

Sorry that this is a late posting.  Between baby showers, doctor's visits, and a gestational diabetes scare (the second more extensive test turned out okay, but I failed the first one), I've had a lot of things on my mind.

So far I've had a few more rejections on "Blood Rain."  Still, if a rejection letter can be spun in a positive way, then both of them were.  The agents in question basically said that the story wasn't for them, but that it had potential.  The fact that there was some positive feedback gives me hope.  I'm going to keep submitting it, but I'm going to wait on the other four agents first.

The way that I handle my agent letters is sending a few and waiting, and then repeating the process over again.  I don't like sending a story to too many agents at a time since that's rude, but I can't just send it to one either and then wait six to eight weeks to find out if the person accepted it or it will be years before I even have a nibble.  (Unless of course the agent in question is someone I know personally or I think is the absolute perfect fit.)  I think a few at a time is a nice balance as long as I'm sure to let them know it's a "multiple submission."  Plus, it takes a good bit of research to make sure that the agency sounds like it would be a good fit in the first place.

I keep an excel spreadsheet for each manuscript to keep track of the agent, agency, response, and the date I sent it to make sure I don't send it twice to the same people.  I didn't do this as first, so now I can't really send out my first novel again since I can't remember who I sent it to and who I didn't.  Agents don't like to see the same manuscript twice, and rightfully so, so be sure to keep good track of who you sent it to--learn from my fail...

In terms of new and old projects, I'm still working on "Blood God" a little bit, mostly because I have at least another fifty pages worth of notes on the project and I feel slightly inspired to write it.  Still, I've also decided to go back to basics and write a horror novel.

Horror is where I got my start so maybe I need to return to it, at least for a little while.  I've been brainstorming on story ideas in a new notebook and I think I have a few good story hooks.  Now I need to pick one.

I also came up with a horror/mystery story idea that takes place in an urban fantasy setting, but it isn't nearly fleshed out enough to start writing it.  Coming up with a mystery style setting with a horror twist is a challenge in and of itself.  I think it's because I've been watching a lot of "Case Closed" lately and mystery is becoming more and more appealing.

I've decided to put away the changeling story for a little while.  I'm just not enthusiastic about it and if I'm not enthusiastic, the reader won't be either.  I'm also debating about taking a crack at romance.  I've written erotica before and some romance short stories, but a novel would be a challenge.  It's sometimes difficult to write a full length novel that focuses on romance at its core, so it might be worth a try.  However, it won't be a Twilight fan fiction.

Whatever genre I choose, I need to write something because I feel like I've been having trouble writing anything for the last month or two.  All I feel like doing is playing video games, and while that's fun and can be inspiring, it won't be for the style of novels I'm planning to work on in the near future.  This blog is called "Feeding the Writing Addiction" and sadly I seem to be going through a state of withdrawal and can't get my fix.  I'm going to keep working at it.  In the meantime, maybe I'll post an excerpt from something I'm working on just to show that I am indeed trying.

I guess I can forgive myself for the video games a little.  I won't have much time for anything at all in the coming months.  I'm hoping to find some time to write, but my family and the baby always will come first.  That's just the way it is.

Still, I will publish one of my novels, even if it takes another ten years and another ten novels.  Think of it as the one item definitely on my bucket list, or the first step in my new career, call it whatever you would like.  I'm taking the advice of the agents and am going to try until someone wants to represent my work.  In the meantime, I'm going to keep reading, writing, with the occasional video game treat.  Please wish me luck.