Rachel Keerie

I have almost given up on ever publishing a blog post. I’ve started to write posts so many times and I get distracted or just slack and disinterested and I fail to post. Again. I’m trying a new thing where I give myself an hour total on a post, read it over and see if I like it, love it or hate it.

An hour is a long time if you don’t know what to write, or if you are hating what you are writing. I will do better! I will choose topics that I like, that I’m interested in, and can write about for at least part of an hour. Editing and proofreading time, in the hour or after the hour, not sure, maybe after.

I’m currently writing my fantasy novel called Winter Raven. I love my characters, but there have been a few false starts. I begin with my brilliant character in mind and somehow I wander off in tangential mud that feels good to write in the moment and reads like bad fiction.

Winter is a magnificent witch from a world parallel to earth that is accessed through portals. I love this! I love the scope of this! So why do I keep meandering through gardens of ordinary writing instead of taking up the sword of magical, mystical and kick-ass prose that would keep a reader glued to my work?

Winter deserves the best story writing. So does Raven, the other main character in my book. Maybe I’ll take my notebook to a café and see what comes to me. Or I’ll pack myself a picnic for one and go sit on a rock somewhere and dream up some great words.

Can I use the perspective of a historical writer, writing in the future about events taking place now? It’s not the worst idea I’ve had about kick-starting my writer energy.

I have 60 000 words and a lot of them are true to the story I want to tell, but I need to maybe do that dreaded thing and plot my story. For a pantser (fly by the seat of your pants) writer like me, this is a terrifying concept. But it’s time to try anything, right?

I will post this post, and it will give me the shove I need. You’ll see.