You might remember me writing about Guardians sometime last year. It’s my latest WIP, and so far I’ve really enjoyed crafting the story. It’s got guardian angel-like beings, magical overlords, and romance. Or at least, I thought it had romance.
My two main characters were supposed to fall in love and save each other. But they’re just not cooperating. Their romance is so…meh. I can’t seem to make their attraction believable or rewarding to read about. It’s a mess.
Meanwhile, two sets of other characters are hellbent on making their romances the center of the story. This is a new problem for me. Usually, I dream up an interaction between two characters and the rest comes from there.
So I’m more than 30,000 words into a story that I’m starting to not care about. It’s a roadblock, to say the least. I think my creative juices have just stalled a bit. Can juices stall? It’s January in the middle of a pandemic and some people just mobbed the Capital Building (yep, I went there), so maybe creative mind is just feeling a bit stifled.
For now, I’m putting it aside. Just like that wonderful scene in Kiki’s Delivery Service when Ursula says, “Stop trying. Take long walks. Look at the scenery. Doze off at noon. Don’t even think about [writing].”
And so, I’ll practice yoga and martial arts, take my kids to the park when the sun comes out, use my new watercolor pens, and stop trying to make Ella and Robbie work things out.
Maybe they’re just good friends.
Take care, dear readers. Be well.
Brigid Huey 