I'm getting them again - the Writing Jitters. I'm pretty sure they're an official condition many people suffer from worldwide.
Leisure writing is something I haven't done for quite some time, and it makes me sad! I am about to enter my final semester of college, and since I've been going to school every Spring/Summer/Fall semester for the past 2 years, I haven't been able to write for fun for about the same amount of time. So it is unfair that the Writing Jitters are attacking me.
I want to continue my latest work, the first book in a fantasy trilogy. While i have chunks and pieces put together along with a solid plot (or several of them mixing together in an awesome Brandon Sanderson-y way), I just CAN'T wait to write, write, write!
So, you may be asking... "Jesse, why don't you just write already?" Trust me, I want to. Very badly. These jitters are driving me crazy! However, I've learned that when I begin writing a particularly good, engaging story, I can't put it down. It consumes my free time. It consumes my thoughts. Not a problem, right? Well, I have a week and a half before my final semester begins. And I've learned that when my focus is on a writing a story, very rarely do I want to switch gears and write an academic paper. In the past, I've tried to balance things. I have failed each time! Something always ends up lacking (like my first novel while I focused on schoolwork, or like my grades while I wrote my second book).
So I have to wait. I have to somehow subdue the Writing Jitters for 4 more months. Then, I can regain my focus and really create a magical story that gets the appropriate love and attention it deserves! That academic writing (as good at it as I am, I don't enjoy it) will have to hold me over until Christmas time. No NaNoWriMo for me this year...
That's OK. I can last 4 more months... right? Thanks for the silent shout-outs! :)
Great. I got that off of my chest. Last bit for this post - if any authors out there (not limited to friends I already know, but hopefully I'll convince some of them) are interested in joining a writing group, I am going to start one up in January. I will be calling it "The Other Inklings." I'll be creating the group on Facebook, then once we have some members, we will start meeting in person and go over each others writing and help each other improve!
Take Luck!
JBB