When I was growing up, I’d start writing books all the time and not finish them. In an idle weekend a few months ago, I started transposing a few exercise books of stuff I’d written when I was a child and so many of them don’t finish.
Admittedly, none of them have plot arcs either but that’s beside the point.
Every so often, I jot down an idea that comes to me, an introduction or a concept. But it’s rare that I’ll structure a book, get 40,000 words in and then just stop.
Only that’s exactly what’s happened to me. It’s really, really odd. Admittedly, I’ve been slowing down on Wild Court for a while – even during a writing weekend away, it was slower going than I’d like. And then I’d sit down at home and stare at the screen. It just wouldn’t come out. I’d fallen out of love with the characters a bit, the plot seemed stale, the magic system flawed, the arc lifeless.
So last week I decided to pause it and focus on something else entirely. And guess what? Ideas started flowing again. Concepts started connecting in my mind, inspiration came back, characters seemed full of life again. And now I have a whole other project to work on that seems a bit more rounded, a bit tighter in scope.
I’m hoping to rewrite Wild Court at some stage, or build on what I’ve got, but I think sometimes, it’s good to know when things aren’t working out – and I look forward to bringing you something new and exciting. More details soon!