Writers and non-writers alike seem to struggle when inquiring about my writing. They want to ask about my book without hearing me drone endlessly on my characters and how the Triangle Fire was a vital, pivotal moment in American history. They want to ask after agents I’ve queried without touching a nerve if I haven’t heard back from them yet. It’s hard to talk to someone about their creative work, especially when benchmarks that define it (publishing contracts, for example) are out of the writer’s immediate control.

A friend of mine, who is also a writer, uses a great question that is general enough so as not to force the person to reveal information she doesn’t want to, but also shows that the asker is truly interested in how things are going. The question, simply: “How is your writing life?”

So, friends, how is your writing life? I’d love to know. Leave me a comment, send an email (leannesowul(at)gmail(dot)com), or say hello on Twitter (@sowulwords); let’s have a positive discussion about our writing lives and where our paths are headed!

What’s that? You want to know how my writing life is going? I’m so flattered that you asked…

I’ve finally gotten through the floundering period of late summer and early fall where I was trying to figure out my next project. I wrote a blog post back in August explaining the four projects I was hesitating between, and asking for advice. I got some great replies which did help me to move forward.

I tried writing the contemporary novel that had come to me in a flash as I was walking on a beach in Maine. I outlined it completely, wrote some character studies, and was completely prepared to go. I wrote the first chapter and a half… and I was already bored. It wasn’t just that it lacked the historical context and world-building I so adore. It was also only written from one perspective, and that just doesn’t interest me. I can re-work it at a later date to make it more exciting to write, but I’ve decided to move on for now.

Similarly, I rejected the idea to write a group of short stories, because it just didn’t interest me as much as a full-length book and I knew it would cause my writing to stall. I am, however, planning to write my usual Wallaby Family Christmas story in December. I plan to write one every year until I have a collection. It’ll take awhile, but maybe by year ten I’ll have the publishing clout to release a Christmas story collection with ease.

I am working tangentially on what I’m calling “The Me Manual” project. Though I haven’t released any of the writing yet, it’s been an amazing, cathartic process so far. I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about it soon. I also purchased the domain name “memanualproject.com” so it’s there when I’m ready to set up the website.

For my main focus, I chose the historical novel, set during the Great Blizzard of 1888. Even though I haven’t been able to start writing yet- the preparation stage takes awhile- I’m excited about the work. I’m simultaneously doing research, inputting notes into my Scrivener file, and creating my characters from scratch. That gives me enough interesting history and creative work to keep me satisfied for now. My plan is to be ready to outline in a few more weeks, then take a break in December to work on my Christmas story (and enjoy the holidays) and start writing the first draft as of January 1st or thereabouts.

I feel like I was rather secretive, or perhaps shy, about Waist while I was writing it. I compartmentalized my fiction and nonfiction writing, never writing about the novel’s progress on the blog, and now I think that was a mistake. You’ll be hearing more about the fiction side here from now on, both from the agent-seeking/publishing perspective for Waist, and the first-draft creation of Blizzard (the working title).

So my writing life is going well, thank you. How’s yours?