lakewood

In 8th/9th grade I started writing what was supposed to be a short story called Lakewood. It ended up being about 50+ pgs long and had a sequel. A few weeks ago I decided that I would read through the story and do some light editing. Well as I read I realized that my writing had grown a lot since I had written these stories and that maybe it was time to do some more then just light editing.

That was when I had the idea. Maybe I will combine the two stories, the second unfinished, into a re-written and much better version of Lakewood. This time I would be more aware of who the characters were and where they were going. Not only that but I could improve the dialogue and cut out things that when read through a second time seem insignificant. The only problem is that I haven't been feeling very inspired to write lately. I'm not really sure why but every time I sit down to write I get about 2 pages written and I can't go any further. This is strange because when I was in high school I would sit down and write 10-20 pages in one sitting.

Why can't I get inspired? It could be the fact that I'm living at home and the environment here is not very rich with creative juices. It could be that I keep thinking that whatever I start writing next should be more then a short story- it should be the idea that launches me into writing my first novel. That could be the problem- I am trying to write this amazing piece of work and because I have such high expectations for it I am overthinking the whole thing. Maybe I just really need to get out of my head.

I have to realize that maybe I don't have the potential to write a novel. Or if I do have that potential, it will show itself in time but that I can't force because I'll end up spending my time writing crap.

In any case, I've decided that what I am going to do is finish reading the first part of Lakewood and then map out the plot. I'll cut out the things that are stupid and maybe add things. Then I'll go a in-depth character description of each of my characters. That way I know them and their personality which will make writing their dialogue easier. After that I'll then read through the second installment which is unfinished and map that plot. From there I'll add to the character descriptions if necessary.

After that I think that it's important to figure out where I want the story to go. Even though it seems boring to map out the whole thing and know exactly where it is going to go- I think that will help the writing process a lot.

I really just want to get that spark back, the one that made me want to always be writing. The spark that caused me to almost never pay attention in school because I was always writing instead. I haven't had the spark in a long time and I'm not sure why. Writing used to make me so happy but lately I haven't even been able to get myself to write. I refuse to believe that writing was just a part of my childhood and that I've outgrown it. If that's the case- I don't know that I'll do.

It might take a lot of work but I am determined to bring inspiration back into my life. I refuse to give up on my writing.