It's hard.
It doesn't help that I am not always the most motivated person in the world. I get distracted, lazy, and I procrastinate. Not all the time, but I'm only human after all.
Writing is something that I have always loved to do. Once I learned how to string words into sentences I was hooked. I have been writing poetry and novels since at least 10 or 11. I even finished a few novels, but when you complete a ridiculous fantasy novel at the age of 14 and all the characters are your best friends, you can't really count on getting anywhere with that.
I have an urban fantasy novel project (actually, two of them) that I am working in now though. The world is pretty complete as I have been building it for years and the two (short) series I am working on are both a part of this world. One series focuses on a tiger shifter named Jayde and the other on a woman within the vampire society (she works for them.) There's all sorts of other cool supernatural people and beasties thrown in as well. The fae, witches, various shifters and even some Greek mythological characters will all be a part of the mix.
Sounds great, right? Well it is, kind of. I love my concepts and my characters and I love weaving together their stories. I know what they look like, how they act, and I'm always using my imagination to think up new and exciting ways to torture them. Because that's really one of the best parts of being a writer. As Kurt Vonnegut says, "Be a sadist."
My main problem is that I am a college student. I love being a student of course! I study English literature and I probably enjoy analyzing books and poetry more than any sane person should. The issue is that college = busy. Between classes, homework, and the constant flow of people I am surrounded by (I live on campus), finding the time and motivation to write can be difficult. A lot of the times I sit down to try to get something down on paper and instead I can't stop thinking about a lecture I had that day, or the reading I have to do, or how much I just want to sleep.
Writing in college is doable, absolutely. I'm not saying that if you're a student it's impossible to work on your own material. My best friend and other half, Sue, manages to balance pretty well. She gets a lot more work done than I do, and she works three jobs. It's pretty insane actually.
After typing all this I'm not sure what the point was. It's a Thursday afternoon and thanks to my lack of Friday classes my weekend has officially started. I have spent it working on my novel so far, and for that I am proud of myself. I guess if I have a point it's that I really need to budget more time to my own writing. Hopefully I can start sharing bits and pieces of my novel with you all soon, if anyone is interested?
I know my blog is kind of all over the place as far as content, but I really do just want to share everything I like and love with you all. :)
Lady Unlaced
