My Ongoing Writing Journey by Eleri Grace

Well, this month's topic is top-of-mind for me as I try once again to reclaim the creativity & momentum that the pandemic stole! 

My third novel was about halfway complete in spring 2020, as I released the second novel of my Clubmobile Girls series in May 2020 with every intention of publishing that 3rd novel in 2021. It's now about 75% complete, which is truly disheartening . . . for me and for my hero and heroine who are eagerly awaiting their happily-ever-after ending!

It's probably not fair to completely blame the pandemic, which, after all, became fairly manageable for most of us more than a year ago. But as I've struggled with writer's block and writing anxiety, I've realized that your writing muscles need to be stretched and used consistently every bit as much as your physical body. I dropped the group exercise classes I had done for decades during the pandemic, and even though I religiously walked (and still walk) 2 miles every morning, rain or shine, I don't have the flexibility, muscle tone or waistline I had 3 years ago. Adding some variety into my exercise routine and building back up to where I was before is one of my 2023 goals. 

Courtesy of quotesinhumor.com

My writing muscles likewise stagnated, beginning with those earliest months of the pandemic when I found it hard to focus on anything other than televised pandemic coverage and where to find toilet paper. What I should have done, courtesy of 20-20 hindsight, was force myself to keep those muscles limber and lean. I managed to get focused enough to release a short novelette for the holidays in 2021, but 2022 yielded no publications at all (not great for the Amazon algorithms). For many of us, writing is hard work. It requires as much focus, persistence and discipline as creativity. Even if my creativity was in short supply during the hardest times of the pandemic, I probably ought to have forced myself to write something, anything, on a consistent basis to keep that part of my identity alive. I often joked that I was probably going to look back and kick myself for not having written multiple books during those months of forced seclusion and isolation. And sure enough, I do indeed regret that I didn't capitalize more on how few other demands there often were on my time. 

Pandemic aside, I think another factor has contributed to this long dry spell for me. On my writing journey, I've flip-flopped in terms of my style -- some people are clearly a plotter or a pantser. Me? I've tried it both ways and am now coming to the conclusion that maybe I'm more of a hybrid. I was a pantser with first "practice novel" (a contemporary romance that will never see the light of day) and the first Clubmobile Girls novel. But during the editing process for that first Clubmobile Girls book, I learned that at least some plotting would have saved me lots of headaches and time during the editing and revision stages. So I went the opposite direction with my second novel, creating a detailed outline and accompanying Excel spreadsheet (I kid you not). And it worked! It really did actually work -- I finished the second novel far faster and it required far less editing work on the whole than had been the case with my debut novel. 

I had started an outline with this third novel, but then my creativity faltered when it was time to pace the characters through the typical beats for the final third of the story. I attempted at that point to pants my way through that final third. Alas, that has not worked as well as I might have hoped. After months (okay, at least a year!) in limbo, floundering and making one excuse after another to myself and to readers who wondered when my next book would be released, I decided it was time to try something new. Last month, I worked with a dear friend and writing coach, Caroline Leech, to help me brainstorm through the plot possibilities for my characters and their story. I'm now excited about the story again and energized at last to start really pushing through to the end. 

I think I probably am the type writer who needs both a strong skeletal structure and outline for the high points, even if I also need and want the flexibility to deviate and pants my way through some of the scenes. I plan to try that out with my next novel -- once *this one* is done that is!  

You can learn more about me and my writing on my website or follow me on social media accounts at Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. My Clubmobile Girls series is available on Amazon.