Lovely Girl   +  reading

On Writing Chick Lit

Last week I took another Media Bistro class, and I’ve been meaning to blog about it, but I’ve been so backlogged lately, I’m just now finding the time. Truth be told, I get so caught up in the minutiae of the day-to-day that I have trouble even thinking about my long-term goals (how sad is it that I can barely blog about a novel-writing class, much less write the darn thing?).

The fabulous Kristin Harmel, author of How to Sleep with a Movie Star led us in some plot outlining and character development exercises. We also discussed the many sub-genres of chick lit, which I already sort of knew from reading See Jane Write. Without divulging too much, I'd say I have an idea for a book, but for some reason I'm really, REALLY resisting writing it.

The siren's call of quick, easy money from writing articles is too tempting. Not just the money, but the instant gratification (not that editors respond instantly but the timeline for articles is much quicker than for novels). So, fellow writers, when do you push through writer's block and/or lack of motivation? And when do you take it as a sign that you should back off and work on other projects?