Happy Full Moon Friday

July is almost out the door, and I have a lot going on at the moment. I'm neck deep in a writing project, the ever difficult book of my heart, which I've had to write and unravel, rethink and write again numerous times, until I finally hit my stride with it this month. (A sincere thank you to Mr. Review, Redo, Revise, Repeat - Mercury Retrograde. Retrogrades, and their shadow periods, get a bad rap most of the time, but they do have their benefits.)

I've since simplified my story and settled on a genre appropriate structure. Now it's finally flowing without the struggle. Pretty much, whenever writing a story is like pulling hen's teeth, it's a sign that something is wrong with it on a fundamental level, and I need to go back to the beginning stages of construction and troubleshoot the issue that's causing the hold up. 

Usually it means I've unnecessarily complicated the story. Tried to take it too broad in scope, and I need to reel it in, take it back down to the character level, and make sure the characters are on the same page (literally and figuratively) regarding what they want. The kinks often iron themselves out after that. What takes the most time is getting the characters to chase after the same rabbit, so to speak.

Change of topic... On the 30th, I'm taking a writing workshop over at Savvy Authors - as a student, not a teacher. Just clarifying that to avoid any possibility of confusion. I've been looking forward to this workshop all month. Not even joking. The topic is about category romance. I can't remember the exact name of the class or who the presenter is, but it's listed on the events page if anyone reading this is interested in checking it out. Workshops specific to category romance don't crop up very often, so I was super excited to see one on the roster and registered early on.

I like the format, pacing, and length of category romances, even if some of the tropes and elements come across as limiting to me, particularly in regards to the types of heroes that appear in them. In fiction of all types, I generally prefer anti-heroes, tough guys (no betas for me, thanks) and paranormal/supernatural heroes. I figure that even if publishers aren't looking for what I write, I can fuse what I like with what is traditionally accepted regarding the genre framework and build a story that fits my tastes. One that is self-publishable. That's the idea, anyway. 

That's pretty much the gist of it. What's going on for me at the moment. I guess the takeaway from all this is...it's going to be a wild ride with lessons along the way for the next few weeks. From the 30th, onward into August. My current project and the workshop included. Toss the Mercury Retrograde in for added seasoning. August is already a crunch month for me. It's hot, busy, requires a extra finances because back to school happens at the mid-point or thereabouts, and my birthday finishes off the month with the usual rigamarole. Whew! It's a lot to process.

Despite it all, I'm really excited about all the busywork and activity coming up. Things are finally moving again after what seemed like months of stagnation. Anyone else feeling that vibe? Yes? No?

That's all for now. Sending you my best wishes. I hope you have a good weekend and enjoy the full moon.