Video Fun and Writing Joy

Just a little something I filmed today.
I love my cats.

I've been making progress on my novel. I've never gotten this far before. Usually I get stumped by the setting I've chosen, or I get lost in my plot because I've taken it somewhere I don't know how to resolve. This time things are working. It helps I like my character. I decided not to define her in any way, just let her say or think what comes naturally and let her personality unfold the way it wants to.

I've been trying these days to eke out creative fulfillment in my life. And now that I'm rapidly approaching 30, I really feel pressure to end my 20s with something in my hands, a completed manuscript. For once.

And maybe all my previous failures to write have simply been due to inexperience. I've been writing a lot these past few years. Maintaining a blog challenges me to put thoughts, ideas and feelings into words on a regular basis. It's like any muscle. You don't use it, you grow weak.

My drawing muscle, for instance, has softened. I can still do it. The ability doesn't go anywhere, but it's no longer something that is honed and nimble. I struggle a bit more. I used to be able to whip up drawings of any sort of character without a thought, like improv. Now? I have to think. And the finer techniques have grown shoddy. Working on my aunt's children's book has been useful, but it's taken a lot more effort than it would have years ago.

But writing is something I've been working on, and I have far more life experiences to draw on than in years past. I've gotten to a point where I feel so comfortable with the written word that breaking the rules is fun and enjoyable. Sentence fragment. See? Delightful. Heh.

Seriously, though, I suppose what I'm saying is I'm not wrapped up in my head as much as I used to be about the rules and the details and it's flowing a bit more organically. It's enjoyable. It's work, but it's satisfying.

I think about my character a lot, what's going to happen to her, what must've happened to her, how she'll react to the coming challenges, and I feel excited.

2012 is going to be the year I write a book.