February 2007
Hello again,
January was a busy month at work, but I completed several large writing projects. Unfortunately, that meant I didn't have as much energy for working on my fiction (although, since I was writing up a guide for software that had not yet been completed, you could argue that it was also fiction).
Though to be honest with myself, I don't think that was the real problem. I've been editing my thriller, and it's been feeling like a chore, rather than fun. The thriller was fun to think about and plan. It was fun to write. But editing was tedious, and I didn't really enjoy rereading it. In fact, that's pretty much how I feel about other people's thrillers. They're fun to read, but once I'm done I give the books away and I don't really think about them anymore.
On the other hand, I can't stop thinking about the Zook Terpin series. I have eight major revisions of A Clockwork Murder, and I've read it many more times than that. Each time I read it, I love the story and I can't wait for the sequel.
So, try as I might, I can't get the thrillers to excite me enough to make me want to pursue them. If I was writing full time, that would be one thing. I can have fun writing the first draft and it would just be work to clean it up and get it out. However, since I'm working all day, I need my writing to be fun all the time. So, I've decided, once again, to focus on the Zook Terpin series. My critique group could not be more happy, especially because that means they finally get to read the first draft of the sequel. :)
Wish me luck and take care,
--Todd