This blog is no longer maintained, but it contains posts dating back to when I was first trying to get published, so I'm keeping it here in the hopes that it might help other aspiring writers.
Correspondence from the Front: WIP Update
Apr 19, 2010
I’ve had several people lately go “So, uh, what are you actually working on?” I’ve been twittering like mad about my word count, and occasionally posting humorously poorly written excerpts, and very rarely talking about the actual content of the book. But I guess I haven’t ever really talked about what it’s about.
Well, if you’ve been wondering. . . . Sorry. You’re going to have to keep wondering. I’m just not really ready to broadcast it yet. A few people know every detail (Sarah, Amie) and a few others know the general idea (Kim, Ellen) but in general I’m still mulling. I realize perhaps it’s a bad thing to be still mulling when you’re 30,000 words into the piece, but there you have it.
I can tell you generally what it’s about, though. The working title is THE IRON WOOD, and that may or may not end up being its final title. It’s the first in a possible trilogy, and it is (for lack of a better term) science fantasy. It is also post-apocalyptic, and dystopian, and YA. It’s very different from my usual stuff, and I think that’s part of the reason I’m having so much fun writing it. Lark, my main character, is very unlike me–another difference from my usual work.
The shivery exciting part is that, right now in the story, location-in-the-world wise, she’s actually standing not far from where I sit writing this — just several hundred years into the future. It feels almost like I should be able to see her, picking her way through the rubble, like a ghost that doesn’t exist yet. Getting to write about what my world would be like then, given the circumstances that I’ve invented, is both exhilarating and totally terrifying. Because if I don’t get it right, it’s certainly not due to lack of knowledge or experience, as I’ve lived here my whole life.
Anyway, I’ve just recently finished act one of the story. It finishes with a tremendous bang (you’ll have to just wonder if that’s literal) and I admit I’m having some trouble getting going on the next act. I would love to hear some advice from you guys about what you do when you hit a stumbling block in your work. It’s not that I don’t know what happens, generally-speaking. It just feels like I’ve been holding my breath, writing this so frantically, and now that I’ve hit a spot in which to take a breath, I can’t find that gut-twisting tension again.
So, advice? What do you do when you need to reignite your excitement about a work? How do you brainstorm? What propels you through the less-exciting parts of your stories?
Just look at yourself now…
Apr 18, 2010
I’ve been completely obsessed with this song ever since I first heard it. It’s become a sort of inspirational song for me, when it comes to writing. Usually, music inspires me in a very specific way — it’ll bring to mind a certain scene, or character, or mood I’m aiming to capture in a given story. This song, however, just makes me want to write. It’s about taking that beautiful mess inside and giving it life.
So here it is, for all those writers out there. My inspirational song of the day! Hopefully it’ll inspire you too! Just make sure to turn that feeling to actual productivity. Don’t be like me and sit staring off into a beautiful daydream for an hour until it fades. I’ll post lyrics after the cut, if you want to read them. They’re lovely.
Welcome!
Apr 17, 2010
Here I go! Consider this the obligatory "I am starting a blog" post. I’d love to tell you what the blog will entail, and while I can tell you that most of the time it’ll be about writing, I can’t promise anything more than that. I’ve been following other blogs for a while now, mostly other authors’ sites but also some editors, agents, and completely un-publishing-related folks as well. I figure it’s time to get my feet wet.
So: hello there. I’m Meagan Spooner, a writer living just outside of Washington, D.C. I write fantasy and science fiction, am obsessed with mythology and fairy tales, and can’t resist a good retelling of a classic. I’m currently hard at work on a new novel, my first solid project since I decided to stop writing as a hobby and start making it my career. I’m having a blast. What better time to start meeting some new people?
If you ever have any questions or comments that you want to make to me directly, feel free to contact me via my website, http://www.meaganspooner.com. The site itself is under construction, and some day this blog will relocate itself there, but for now you can use it to get a hold of me.
So whether you’re a friend of mine or you’ve come here via one of my friends’ blogs: welcome! Stay and chat, leave a comment, say hi. I may be an antisocial hermit, but that doesn’t mean you have to be as well!