Yeah, well. That didn't really work out. See, I have this problem as a writer. I set out to do simple things. I really do. I don't set unreasonable expectations for myself. I decided last week (as evidenced by last week's blog entry) that I was going to write a short story. Seems simple enough, right? I had the idea, the theme was set, the plot was (mostly) worked out. At least enough to get started. I didn't have a definitive ending yet, but sometimes these things find their own voices and lead me through them on their own. So, I got to work and I worked and struggled and wrestled with it and tried to pummel this damn story into submission. As of the past couple of days, I have actually nearly convinced myself that I should just throw in the towel and resign myself to a life of non-publication. This thing just isn't working.

Then a couple of days ago, it occurred to me what the problem was. The story was straining in the constrictions I was trying to shoehorn it into. Like an NFL player in a PeeWee league uniform, this story wants to sprawl out and fill much more space than a short story format would allow. Something like six books' worth of space, if my calculations are correct. Now, this is what sucks. I am currently working on two long(ish)-term projects and was looking for a palate cleanser to get me on the rails and moving again after the mayhem of last summer and my descent into slothfulness that has occurred over the past few months. I needed the ego boost of a completed project. And now, I just have another thing to shove onto the already-crowded back burner. Don't get me wrong here, I'm not complaining about having ideas. I would never be so ungrateful as to go there. Ideas are all I have. It's the discipline required for the execution of these ideas which I lack. And, frankly, that's the thing that is keeping me on the bench. Sorry to bring you down, my dear readers. I'm just sort of frustrated at the moment and having a hard time scrabbling my way up out of this slump I've fallen into. Maybe I should try a little beat poetry to get my quill in the well again. I don't know.

Stay tuned...