An Obnoxious B**** of a Muse

[cross-posted from my MySpace blog]

This was going to just be a single-topic post, but I'm feeling generous today.

Okay, I just had a small tidbit for the extra post: Those who've read my blog on goal-setting, I just wanted to get a little vindication. If setting goals, working toward them, and making yourself accountable for them will win you 8 gold medals in the Olympics, I have to say it can have the same effect on your writing.

From the link:

"Eight medals, one more than Mark Spitz won in Munich in 1972. This was, of course, the plan that he and his coach, Bob Bowman, had in mind all along. Every year, Phelps lays out his goals on a piece of paper and gives it to Bowman. Traditionally, Phelps has never said a word about what's on that paper. But now the 2008 version can be revealed:"

Of course, I'm assuming that Phelps works hard toward those goals... *eye roll*

Okay, now back to your regularly scheduled (writing) blog post...

Sometimes my muse can be an obnoxious b****. I'm just getting into the groove on my third novel, after an extended hiatus to both go through rewrites on HEROES DIE YOUNG and to go through edits and the query/synopsis/puke-my-guts-out/query/snyopsis/submit train for my second novel. In between all that, I've also been trying hard to get into a short-story-a-month mindset, and seem to be doing well toward my goals.

So, as I was saying, just getting into the groove on book three. Things are clicking, I'm doing a lot of "oh hell, that should have gone up in Chapter 1" and "where did this guy come from all of the sudden?" Then, the muse decides to play with my brain a bit, and introduces a brand new plot for a brand new novel...or short story...or novel in an entirely different vein from the Aston West story...or novel that's dependent on the second novel getting out there (I told you, that muse of mine can be obnoxious). I won't go into full details here, but I already have the title, which can probably give a small bit of insight...RESURRECTION.

Of course, my muse doesn't care that I need to get the third Aston West novel written, the second one published, or that I need to keep track of 4 short story submissions currently out (and 2 sold stories which should be coming out any day, not to mention the various pieces in work). She's got her own little warped agenda....which is basically to send me off the deep end, so she can laugh maniacally while they cart me off to the psych ward.

Good thing I'm off work all this week on a writing vacation (in my basement)...shhhh, don't tell her a thing. She'll probably stick a few more story ideas in, and ask me why I haven't done a thing with those screenplay plots she sent over several years ago.