I'm having a really hard time with Nano this year. After realizing that I'm doing a horrible job this year and getting over the frustration, I realized that some good had come from this experiment in disastrous failure.

I managed it. It was very hard, but I managed it. I cheated (a LOT) but I did it. I managed to only finish one book this week and that was only when I had absolutely no other option but to read or go insane.

My friend Nikki and I are doing The Artist's Way to help recover our sense of creativity. She just finished the week of no reading. I'm supposed to do that week starting now. I'm going to say it right now and deal with the consequences immediately: I will not be participating in the no reading part of this whole deal.

For the last few weeks, my writing time has dwindled down to an amount that I'm not content with. I've said before that when you have a passion for something, you'll make it work. I'm still living by that mantra, but I'm struggling with it right now.

Sometimes the creative process doesn't happen like we writers would like it to. Sometimes, when you wake up in the morning, you're staring at your coffee pot and thinking about the sweet (or not so sweet if you'd rather) elixir of life that will jump start your brain. But as my chiropractor would like me to abstain from drinking the coffee, I'm sad to say that I'm not enjoying that life giving serum as much anymore.

Inspiration is a funny thing. When it comes to me, it's like a whirlwind of activity. When it leaves, I'm more inclined to sit with a good book than to work on ideas for a new book or the plot of a current book. My inspiration has left me for a little while, but I'm getting it back. Life does that to you sometimes.

I had a very enlightening conversation with my brother-in-law Nic last night. He's very much into fantasy novels and isn't too keen on the whole vampire thing because it's mainstream right now. So we started talking about fantasy novels and he asked me if I had ever thought about writing a fantasy novel myself. To be completely honest, I have pondered the possibility. There's just so much work involved in it that I haven't put a lot of work into it yet.

Then I started laying out the Prophecy universe for Nic and hooked him. That made me feel good. But what really gave me the high of major accomplishment was when he told me two things: one, that I'm a master storyteller to have all this backstory and history for my own characters, and two, that I need to write a fantasy novel because it would be huge.

So what makes a good story? This was the question I asked myself this morning when I got up. Sure, you may have the best idea in the world, but what would actually make that a good story to tell? I have the answer: history.

You can have the coolest group of characters in the world, you can have the greatest setting in the world, and the best plotline ever created. But if you don't have a history, a backstory, for those characters, then you don't have anything at all. History gives your characters a purpose. It also enables you to show the reader the story instead of tell them.

Why is drinking from humans forbidden for vampires? Because that's the law. Well, why is that the law? Aha, that's the reason behind the book. Why do you have to kill all of your competition to become the vampire king? Again, that's why you need to read the book. See what I mean?

The richer and more varied the history, you'll either have a great novel or a confused one. So don't go so deep in the history that things are contradicting other things or it's impossible to keep up. Start with something simple and expand on that. Make it rich and varied, but keep in mind that you want the reader to get it.

I had a great time last night talking to my bro in law about the plot for Prophecy. He was surprised at the complexity and depth of it. That's a compliment to any writer. Strive for it.

So it took me a little longer to get the shot I wanted for the cover of Forbidden. It's still not done completely yet, but now I'm happy. I apologize for my extended absence, but if it's not done right, then it's not done yet.

It's Friday! That means it's time to have fun for the first time in a long time. With this in mind, I thought I'd go through the contents of my bag with you to make you laugh. You might not believe me right now, but it's funny. Or maybe that really is just funny to me.

Here's a fun little exercise to try. Go to a local hang out (the mall, the coffeeshop, McDonalds, whatever) and just sit there and watch people. That's what I'm doing right now (since the hours at the part time job changed and I'm now off on Thursday and Friday). I'm sitting in Fireworks, listening to Skillet and watching the cars go by. The music just changed to Fiona Apple. Cool.

There are people staring at me as I sit here typing this. I guess traffic is really boring today. They just want my coffee. I know, those people in the grey Dodge Intrepid are secretly plotting to take over the world by stealing the world's supply of coffee. Wouldn't that be a funny story to tell? Maybe they're really aliens and the only way to control the mass population is to take away our coffee. Those people in the huge Ford F150 are thinking the same thing. Aliens.

See that? Sometimes it's fun to just watch people and build a story around what they could be doing. If you're getting bored being stuck inside with your computer, take a notebook with you to a place with a lot of people, or a place like Fireworks where you can watch traffic, and build something around it. You never know, it could actually be good.

Now I'm going to take notes on the aliens trying to steal my coffee. That could be really funny for November next year. Remember, writing is the only profession in the world where crazy ideas are allowed.

Today is all about style. Some people have it, some people don't. But whatever it is, normally it's unique.

With the help of my adorable husband, who never gets sick of editing, I was able to determine what my actual writing style is. It's good to know how you write so you can adapt it to what you write about.

I'm a very sarcastic writer. I like a lot of dry humor. I also tend to drag conversations on and on without saying anything about what a character is doing while talking (because seriously, who talks to someone else standing perfectly still?) and I have issues with facial expressions. I also tend to focus on a character's eyes entirely too much. But I have been told by my readers that I have an eye for details (like the Daitenshi Club in Prophecy. Everyone has loved that one) and endings that mess with your head. I never said writing styles were summed up in two or three words. We're writers, like that's going to happen.

Once you finish a first draft, you'll be able to tell what your writing style is. Some people focus on humor and tension to help move their plot along. I do sometimes. Others focus on historical accuracy and realism to bring a reader right into the story (Diana Gabaldon with the Outlander Series). There's a different writing style out there for every single writer.

The point is that you need to find your own unique voice. Maybe you like to tell stories from first person perspective with biting humor and wit intermingled in the story. Good for you, go with it. Maybe the thought of doing something like that scares the crap out of you. That's fine too. Just find it. Once you do, you'll be able to cultivate it into something real, something huge. Once you find your voice, you'll be able to find a character's true voice and that is what we're all here for isn't it?

I mentioned last week that I'm feeling the burnout and that is still true. It's not as bad as it was because I've been experimenting with new things, but I can feel it coming. November is going to be a welcome break from the world of vampires and werewolves, I can tell you that much.

I think I'm starting to exhaust my muse. What does that mean? You're lucky because I'm going to tell you.

I'm a vampire writer, first and foremost. I'll never stop writing about vampires and werewolves and mystical supernatural creatures. That is my passion, my muse, and I'll never fully stop doing that. I love being unrestrained by the laws of science when it comes to what my vampires can do. Between Seven and Roan and Ulrich, I'm like a protective mom with her children. I want to let them go into the world, but I want to keep them close to me so they are safe from criticism and scorn. So far, everyone has loved Seven and Ulrich. Roan is getting his introduction next year.

While I love writing about vampires and the supernatural, I'm exhausting myself. I'm running out of steam. It's time to write about something else. That's where Nanowrimo comes in.

I'm going to have the chance to write something different, something completely foreign to me. I've never written in first person perspective, and that's part of what I'm doing this year. I've never written a story where none of the characters can run faster than a speeding bullet or snap an oak in half with their bare hands. I'm doing that this year. It's scary and exhillarating at the same time.

No matter how good you are, eventually writing the same old thing is going to catch up to you. I told myself a year ago that I would never feel burnout. I love what I do too much. But here I am, on the verge. Granted, I haven't had a real break this whole time and I desperately need one. The point is, someday down the road, maybe not tomorrow and maybe not next year, but someday, you'll feel like your muse is exhausted.

So what do you do? Stop writing? No. Never stop writing. NP told me that last year and I haven't really. Even while I've been blocked this week, I've had my finger in one book or the other that I've already written. Dream about something different. Let your mind wander over what it would be like to write something completely different from what you've been doing. Read a new book. Watch a new movie. Sample something different in your life and let it inspire you. Or go out on the back porch with a glass of Captain Morgan and a cigarette and stare at the sky.

But don't stop. You'll find it again. Talk to other people, bounce ideas off of those you trust. Put whatever you do, don't stop.

Would-be writers talk about the novel they wish they could write. True writers talk about the one they're writing. Don't be a would-be.

Right now, I'm sitting at the best coffeehouse in the world watching people paint pottery (you can do that here while you're drinking your coffee. Isn't that just cool?). If I had the time today to paint, believe me I would be. Sometimes words on a page can't express how I'm feeling as well as paint on a ceramic plate can.

Do you find that sometimes you need to break away from your computer and do something else that's just as creative as writing?

Sometimes, I just have to take a break from my computer and paint a piece of pottery. They make great gifts and I get to branch out a bit. For other people I know, it's photography that calls them from other pursuits. One of my brothers-in-law works as a waiter full time, but he paints in his spare time. He takes pictures to get his mind away from a canvas. My other brother-in-law is a musician. I'm not sure what he does when he's not playing music, but I think it has something to do with drawing. Or beating my husband at metroid prime.

It's okay to branch out from one medium to another to make your brain more effective at your primary pursuit. After I paint, all of a sudden the scenes in my head that I'm writing down are clearer and more vibrant. All of a sudden I can explain what I mean so much better.

If you're getting bogged down in everything else going on in your life and your writing is suffering, go do something else that's creative. You'd be surprised how rejuvenating that is.

My husband and I were having a very interesting discussion today. He said this would make a great post and I agree.

Have you ever tried to force yourself to be creative? Isn't that the worst thing you can do? I know some of my worst work has been done under the pressure to perform as it were. Then I go back in edits and ask myself how something so awful wound up in one of my works and I have to write the scene over again.

The whole point of being a writer is to be able to tap into something inside yourself that other people, normal people as it were, can't get into. We keep strange hours and think of bizarre things and make the librarians question our sanity when we check out various reading materials (I just checked out books on depression, infertility, and suicide along with the latest Sookie Stackhouse novel. The librarian looked at me like I needed help until I told her I'm a writer, then she seemed much more comfortable). It's not like writing fiction is a job with set hours (nonfiction might be different, but I don't know about that). That's the whole point.

Last night I got home from my part time job and wrote until after midnight. Then I got up this morning at 7 and wrote two more pages. I'll probably go home tonight and write two more. But that's only if I feel the need to write. If I don't feel it, I won't do it until tomorrow. And that's what this post is about.

I know I harp on writing three pages a day. Three pages a day, five days a week. That equals fifteen pages a week. You do that for ten weeks and you have 150 pages. If that's single spaced pages, you have a book right there. Prophecy was 152 pages single spaced before chaptering, and it's 440 now. After editing and formatting, you'd be surprised how long a book can be.

The biggest thing you can do for yourself is keep writing. Just keep writing. If you don't feel inspired, step back for a little bit. Listen to some music, watch a movie, read a book, take a walk. Then come back refreshed and ready to take on the world. But don't force it. Stifling your creativity is a bad idea.