Stalled.

That's it. I'm stalled on this book.

I could blame work related stress--not just amount of work to be done while facing deadlines, but also the close proximity of my Toxic F*cking Co-worker (an insecure, passive aggressive, cow b*tch). But that's another rant story, another blog.

I could also blame the fact that these characters/story did not 'come' to me, I sought them out. I wanted to prove I could write a "straight" contemporary romance. (Hah! This ms (idea) has turned into a bit more than that). I could also blame a certain amount of 'creativity sapping exhaustion. But, whatever the cause, the result is the same. I'll see what happens this week-end.

On another note, Emma Gads wrote about her dwindling interest in reading Historicals in a recent blog. She still loves them, but is much more picky about what she'll read. Monica Jackson also blogged about being bored with what's out there romance-wise. Both these ladies have put my feelings into words; and I noticed something else--with all the buzz that's been going around about porn/erotica/romantica, et al--while I love a really hot read (and write fairly hot myself), I'm becoming a bit bored with them too.

For the first time evah, that I can remember, I skipped a love scene in a book I’m reading. gasp!, It was the third (full) love scene in the book, the first one was very well-done, but I found it loooooooooong. It could have been half the length and I would’ve been happy and satisfied. The second (fully consummated) lovescene was a quickie up against the wall. I enjoyed it. Enough detail for me to get the seat-squirming gist, good use of emotion and sensation, nice length, good pacing. Over.

Futher to this, Alison Kent posted two versions of a love scene from a recent wip she's completed. The second (original) version was more explicit than the first, and most people who posted a response, loved it better, specifically because of the details. Yet I preferred the first (edited/ 'toned down') scene. It was just as hot (which was the point she was aiming for) but it worked better for me. My own imagination/words--or just plain 'reaction' to the scene was enough to fill in the details/words that suited me. There were some details/descriptions from the second scene that I would have liked to have in the first, but there were others that pulled me out of the scene a bit. (Not sure why, lord knows I'm no prude).

Just like Monica and Emma, I’m looking for that *little bit different*, *touch of uniqueness*, or promise and delivery of *the exceptional*, I guess. (this is not in reference to Alison’s excerpt, just in general). I think, in part, that 'difference' I seek has more to do with the display, or conveyance, of emotion, character voice, sensation, chang/growth, humor, and so many other things beyond ‘details’ and/or ‘length’ of scene.

Back to Odil & Zoë (or maybe not back) I have to figure out what to do with this story, I don't want to walk away from it. I think it’s a really good story and I don’t want to let it go. At the very least I want to get the outline down, that if I do take a break, when it's time to come back, I'll know what my intentions were with the book. It could just be a matter of discipline and time….