IWSG: Have Heart

 

It's the first Wednesday of the month, so you know what that means ... it's time for another Insecure Writer's Support Group meeting. IWSG was created by the awesome ninja captain Alex J. Cavanaugh, and you can find out the other members of the group here.

Have Heart

Since the Roanoke Regional Writers Conference, I haven't been able to get Kathleen Grissom's "What doesn't come from the heart, can't reach the heart" line out of my head. It's had me reevaluated what I write and how I write.

After my critique partners' comments on Act I of Starred, I had to reevaluated the story. The heart is still there, but it needs more. A different starting place, perhaps, and have the characters already know each other. That requires more pondering and simmering. Plus, I still need to solidify the musical I'm writing for it. I hope to get back to this novel in August, unless plans change again.

Then, there is Twelve Days of Foxwick. It's a Fantasy Romance set in my Foxwick world. I was going to write it last year, but I ran out of time. I had planned to start writing it again in April, but every time I think of the story, it makes me feel ill and nervous. I do like the idea of it, but my heart isn't in it. It's not exciting me the way The Loveless Princess does or my short story collections set in Foxwick's world do. So, for now, I'm shelving the idea indefinitely.

Instead, I'm putting my heart in the projects that are calling to me. I hope to have The Loveless Princess finished soon. Well, the first draft, that is. It'll be awhile before it'll be ready for people to read beyond my critique partners. I'm excited to keep working on The Phoenix Prophetess as well as the short stories in Men of Foxwick. I have added Neighbors of Foxwick, a short story collection, to my list of 2013 goals as well, since I may have extra time to start those short stories.

True, it'll mean a bit less to publish this year and will take a few projects longer to be ready, but it'll be worth it. I'd rather take the time to make sure they have heart.

Are you following your heart when it comes to writing?

On a side note, Friday's my birthday, so I'm taking the day off from the blog. So no Friday Flash this week. Also, I'm taking some time off from the day job, so I may be a little slow in commenting. My home internet stinks, so I often don't get online much when I'm at home.