Blocked

If you haven't had a chance to hop over to NAF and tell me about your favorite robot yet...why not? I'm not getting any younger here.

Speaking of which, I've found my first wrinkle. It's the beginnings of a neck wattle. I knew I'd develop one eventually. I just didn't know "eventually" would be "now." I figured my first wrinkle would be a smile line. Alas, no. To be fair, my co-worker doesn't see it, and she's not the kind who won't tell me something just to be nice. I'm grateful for that, even if it means occasionally I get a hairy eyeball for my choice of clothing.

Hey, I thought they matched when I was dressing in the dark.

Anyway, it's easier to comment at NAF than here. You don't have to log in, and the site remembers you when you come back. Plus, no one has identified my movie quote yet. 

Moving on. 

I should never have mocked Anne Lamott about writer's block. I suspect that's where I am right now, at the intersection of Stuck and Braindead.

I'm not worried. I'm not on deadline (not a paying deadline), so I don't have to panic.
I have some tricks to try.

I can do a little research. I won't go crazy like some folks, but taking an hour to toodle the web and look at current robots or biological breakthroughs or monsoon destruction footage or giant helicopters can oil my brain gears enough to get moving again. I'll have to do it eventually, and I hate it when I have a great scene written only to find out they didn't wear their daggers on that side and even if they did, the type of dagger would be inadequate for doing what I needed it to do. Better to do some research early in the process.

I can Make Something Happen. If I get bogged down, so does the reader. So, bang! Throw a curve ball. Drop a bomb. Explode a lab. Get the stupid story moving, gooberhead!

Ooh, sorry. That was my internal editor. She's not as nice as I am.

A thought struck me last night. While I was icing my cheek, I pondered. I've always assumed Past Ties is part of a trilogy. Past Ties, Present Tense, Future Perfect. Great titles, aren't they?
But I don't necessarily have books to go with those titles. Fact is, I don't have to write Past Ties. I made it through Star of Justice without The Oracle's Words. I could move on with my series without ever committing Tayra and Gavran, or LUCK-I, to paper.

I don't want to do that. I'd prefer to write their story, but I've been thinking I have to. I don't. I don't have to write three books, either. I might be able to do it in one. Shoot, I might be able to make it a short story.

Maybe not.

The point is, I said no limits, and then I find limits I didn't know I had. Story of my life.

I'll start with Making Something Happen, and move on to research if that doesn't help.

Otherwise, I'll just stare at my neck wattle in the mirror. That's not helpful.