Gone Stale

I have never had writer's block, and I don't think I have it now. I've always had plenty to write about, even when my fear kept me occupied with other things in order to avoid doing the work.  For the last seven years, I have been consumed with the need to write as much as I possibly could, largely to (a) prove to  myself that I could do it and (b) make up for forty years of wasted time.

I experience the process of writing fiction as a miracle. Where do the ideas come from? How is it that the characters come to life so completely that they take over the story and cause things to happen that I never expected. I have tried to change the direction of stories after the characters took it "off track", and couldn't do it. The characters know the story. My role is simply to stay out of their way and write it down.  I love the adventure of encountering new characters and spying on them as they deal with the issues in their lives.

But, I'm a little burned out. I don't care a lot for the stories I wrote for the purpose of being overtly commercial. When I returned to my love story roots, I realized that I have started repeating myself in terms of themes. I have a couple of stories I want to write, but they are very different from anything I've done before. The ideas are there, but they're dim and not fully formed. I think it may take some time to fully flesh them out.

In the meantime, with the encouragement of my Gypsy Muse, I am going to try some things I've never done before. It's time for me to have some adventures in areas other than creating imaginary worlds. I need to have some adventure in my exterior life. I've been through a lot in the last few years, but now I feel strong and happy. I am ready to try something new. 

I'm not sure how much I'll be posting here, or what kinds of things I may choose to talk about on a writing blog if I'm not writing, but I'm sure I'll come up with something. Occasionally.