Need a Writing Pick-Me-Up

Black Hole Son isn't going so hot on Character B's side. His story feels lackluster. His scenes are short, don't feel well thought out. The longest scene I've written for him so far has been under 4,000 words. My average for Character A's story was 4,000. You might say that that's good, that I'm learning to be short and witty, and that the story's too long as it is, but I just feel like he's not getting the same treatment that Character A got. He's just missing something, he doesn't have the same zip that Character A had when I was writing him, and I just don't have the zeal to write the story anymore.

What happened was when I got done with Character A, I felt like I was done with the story, really. I wrote 84,000 words, and now I just feel tired of the world, I want to move one. Which is ironic, because I was so excited about writing Character B, because he was going to be funnier, and I had a clearer idea of his timeline. And even though I know there's plenty of good stuff in the future, I just feel burnt out on the story. Even the scene I just wrote I thought would pop, but it just fizzled. It was too short, and it doesn't feel like B is equal to A at this point. Maybe I just need more time.

I just re-read a story of mine way back when - CS Wars 3 (see sidebar), that I wrote back in college. There's such zippiness and wit and energy behind it I can scarcely believe I wrote it. Now it seems like writing is just something to get done. Something I do just so I can get it accomplished. Maybe I should take a break for a little while, writing something new. Or don't write at all, just read a bit. I've got short stories in my head, and other things. On the other hand, it also seems to me that it's just not going to get any better. It's not like I have any stressors in my life, or writer's block. There's really nothing hindering the story. That this is writing, and sometimes it's just playing the notes. At this point I'm not sure whether I'm writing to form a story, or writing for writing's sake.

I need a writing pick-me-up. Something to tell me that I need to keep going. That there is a light at the end of the tunnel (and hopefully, the tunnel is not line with 500 rejection slips). Maybe this is a sign that I should finish up Avatar and start sending it out.

Another thought came to me, I haven't heard hide or hair from the girl who's novel I was critiquing. I wonder if I wrecked her story so much she gave up writing and became a cheerleader. I'm not sure if I should be glad or not that she hasn't sent me anything.

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