Inspiration, where art thou?

Second attempts as I was told by many, are supposedly easier. So writing my second novel should be a breeze now, right? Nah. Not in my case, at least. I refer to each novel/manuscript/story as a pregnancy or a workshop in progress or growing your own food from seed to harvest on a fertile mind. Each is different – the approach, the methodology and the view. Each is difficult, if not harder than the previous one. The only difference is at least a sophomore writer has a basic grasp of the writing process.

I find it more difficult to write the second since I already know my weaknesses and is more conscious to not repeating them. Yes, writing the second book is quite daunting especially if you are aware of other people’s expectations. On top of this is the amount of pressure I put on myself to come up with something that is at par or will surpass the first effort. Maybe that’s the OC in me – I am my own worst critic.

I still have a lot of chapters to finish and I really don’t know if I could beat my self-imposed deadline. Aside from the additional research involved which needs sorting or else would simply be infodump… my main character’s quite complex, so I am in a dilemma whether I should clip his wings a little or let him develop a life of his own as the story progresses. I got stalled at the fifth chapter when I realized that I didn’t like the beginning for it may drag the story down to the drain. I need fresh eyes before making a go at it again. So I’m giving myself a few days of respite before I start the process of restructuring the flow of the story and redo my story outline.

For now, it’s back to blogging.

End rant.

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