A Week Without Writing

By

Scott D. Parker

Last week, I successfully completed my version of NaNoWriMo in which I drafted and completed a novella in the month of November. The manuscript clocked in at just over 30,000 words and will be available next year, likely in the first half of 2015.

I considered it a good success story and an accomplishment to have reached that goal. I am striving to find new ways to be more efficient at completing first drafts. As I start my new publishing company, one of the things I need is inventory. With the completion of this manuscript, I now have seven manuscripts in the bank. I'm aiming at publishing at least four of them next year.

Since I am working on content for my new website, I didn't plan my next story. In fact, I had given myself permission to devote all my spare time in December to getting the website up, editing manuscript #1, getting my cover design, logo design, and web graphics fixed, and formatting the first book in advance of my expected publication in January.

But I strangely found myself at a loss this week, especially during my breaks at the day job. You see, I didn't have an active story. Sure, I used those precious minutes to work on my mission statement and book blurbs but those things don't have the sexiness of plowing through a first draft of a story. I've now written 2.5 stories while at this new day job since July and those breaks--where I write on my stories--are awesome. I look forward to getting back to the stories even if it's only for five minutes. Couple that with the walking I do while I'm writing and it's a win-win.

Which means I'll have to come up with my next story by Monday so I can have my oases of creativity during the work days.

Yeah, but I need all those pieces for my website before I really need to draft a new story. Such are the multiple hats I get to wear now that I'm an indie author/publisher. So I've come up with a fun idea, at least until I complete the web content: set aside my 5am hour for business content and allow my breaks to be for drafting a new story.

We'll see how well that does for me.

Do you ever feel the absence of a story when you are in between projects?