my writing

I write fantasy. I can't really be any more specific than that. The first manuscript I completed was a YA urban fantasy novel, sort of a Romeo and Juliet lite, only with fey folk. In New York. The one I'm working on now is definitely an adult novel. And there's no urban about it, it's just fantasy. Not epic fantasy, either. Just an alternate world, a different set of gods to worship, and a few different human-type species. No magic, or swords, or dragons. My short fiction is all over the place: I have written non-genre short stories. I wrote one about Lucifer returning in the form of a cat. One about a woman locked in an iron room and losing her child. One about a girl who went to a different world in her dreams and raced a stag and the moon to become high priestess of the land. There's one I can't even describe about a frustrated musician who goes to a bar that turns into a pirate ship. . . . See? I'm really all over the place. And that comes about, I think, because I'm not an outline-oriented writer. I start with a character. Or a scene. Or a line. And I just keep going after that, and see what happens. I always thought that that's the fun of writing: seeing where it goes. (I'm not trying to be negative about outlines, don't get me wrong. I've even considered trying to do one and writing a novel from it at some point, to see what it's like. But I do feel that there's a magic in just following where the words lead.)
I like a lot of things about my writing habit. I like that I am motivated and disciplined. I like that I write such a variety. But. Ladies and gentlemen, I am a slow writer. Which drives me nuts, but there's no other way to be. I wish I could churn out two or three books a year, like a certain young author I'm insanely jealous of whose blog I read. But the fact of the matter is that, around working full-time and then some, and having a couple of interests outside of writing, there's no way for me to burn through writing a manuscript. I just don't have the time. Maybe someday . . . So for now I content myself with being slower than I'd like. Slow and steady wins the race, eh?
I'm currently revising my manuscript for the second time. When I'm done, I hope to convince people to read it and give me feedback again, and then I'll polish it up one more time, and then submit. But I have to be honest: a small part of my brain is already churning away on a very important question. What do I write next? So many ideas, so little time!
Anyway. It's weekend time. Enjoy, everyone!