Let’s be honest. You know who this is and where he’s from.
This is a quick post that just came to my head and forced me to push another spontaneous one to late June. Basically, this connects to the paranormal thriller I’m working on and how I think it’s affecting me.
The story takes place in an asylum where strange things happen and every character has mental issues. Many of them are taking a downward spiral too, especially the main one that I spend most of my time with. He starts with depression, anxiety, cutting, and suicidal thoughts. So going further into the abyss isn’t pretty. I also don’t think he’s going alone.
The longer I work on this story, the less I want to deal with people. I find myself purposely searching for things that make me depressed because I don’t want to be happy. This isn’t even conscious since I just sort of do it. Loud noises are making me angry and I’ve actually tried to strangle the cordless phone. Heck, not even loud noises since I hear someone walking on the wooden floor and it’s irking me. I’ve always had mood issues and push toward pessimism, but this is getting a little ridiculous. Things seem to be getting worse as I write this and I just want it out of the way. Again, I really hope to finish this by Friday and then I’ll have to figure out what to do with it.
I will admit that this isn’t the first time I’ve had stuff like this happen. Scenes with Stephen Kernaghan always left me drained and disgusted, which led to a break with something happy. I’ve teared up when my characters break down and smiled when they’re rising to victory. Yet, this time around is eating away at my mood and opening up a few doors that I might not want to open. Maybe this thing taking place in a non-fantasy world is making it more real for me since Nevra Coil has something similar and I didn’t have any issues. Then again, I could just be flinging weird ideas all over the place.
Where am I going with this? I’m not sure because this whole thing kind of scares me and I’m unclear if putting it into the public arena is a good idea. Yet, I’m left wondering if it’s just me. Do other authors find themselves drawn into the emotions of their characters? Is that the sign of a good author?
Finding the right editor is like finding someone to date. It takes patience, resourcefulness, and sometimes, just plain luck. There are dozens of ways to find editors online, and the first editor you find may not be the right fit for your book, or the two of you may not have good chemistry.
