Can't focus. Must finish book.
Listening to: Depeche Mode – The Singles
Mood: Restless (mostly because I’m in the middle of an awesome book and want to finish it but can’t, because: work)
I’ve been a “bad” writer this week. My goal was 10,000 words in my YA Fantasy, and I’ve barely clocked 2,000. But it’s not my writing muse’s fault, because I’m still super jazzed about my WIP and have all these ideas in my head. No, being a “bad” writer this week is because I’ve been a great reader. Which doesn’t actually make me a bad writer at all.
I started reading a new series this week that Goodreads has been recommending to me for ages. I kept telling myself I would read it when I had a chance, but so many authors I love have been coming out with books this year in a steady stream. Don’t get me wrong; I LOVE discovering books by authors that I haven’t had the pleasure of reading yet. It’s one of my favorite things; like I’m suddenly in on a secret that no one else knows about (even if I’m not at all because the authors is a New York Times best seller or something like that).
So last week I realized I finally had a lull since a bunch of books I’ve been waiting for this month don’t come out until 5/27. I always like to have a book to read, so I downloaded “Darkhouse” by Karina Halle (#1 in the Experiment in Terror series). I love dark, twisty horror (which is also why I write dark, twisty stories), and was more than game to read it, hoping it scared the pants off me. And boy did it ever. I downed it in one sitting. Seriously, could not put it down. I downloaded the next book in the series. Read that in one sitting as well. I proceeded to download the rest of the series – a total of 9 books (one yet to be released) and 4 novellas. I’ve been reading them nonstop ever since. I go to work, I go home, I work out, I throw in a meal here and there (if I can put the book down long enough to fix food), and I read. I cannot put these books down. I know I have other things to do but still I can’t stop. I love the characters, I love how creepy the stories are, I’m hanging on every word, holding my breath, cringing when my house makes the tiniest noise while I’m sitting alone at night reading.
THIS is what I love. What I’m feeling right now about this series is EXACTLY what I want people to feel about my stories. I want to write the kind of books that someone will forego sleep for; that someone will love, cry, scream, and FEEL ALL THE THINGS for. To me, it’s not a loss if I don’t meet my writing goal this week because I’m getting something so valuable still. I like figuring out why I can’t put a book down, why I love the characters so much, what makes me flip the next page even if its 12am and I have to wake up in 6 hours. It all serves to better my own writing. And I plan to spend my entire weekend writing anyway (sorry Hubs), so it’s all good. Word goals are great, but so is getting lost in a book and remembering WHY we write and WHY we love the written word.
