The In-Between

There is a sure sign when my creative output is flowing and I am deep in the process of cruising through a book or a screenplay or editing a film. I am happy.

But when my moodiness escalates or when I walk around grunting and mumbling there is no doubt where I am. I am in the IN-BETWEEN.

Just ask my wife.

The period of time between projects is always the most frustrating to me. I feel unnatural, incomplete. I need the output to flow. It is never a matter of not having an idea. Or having writers block. For me it is always a matter of too many ideas and narrowing it down to a single, workable concept. I tend to bounce around from idea to idea- weighing the benefits of spending the next chunk of months single-minded and devoted to one project. My minds surfs genres, tries to imagine outcomes (a very bad thing), swings with the moods of the music I listen to or the movies I watch. It's a difficult place to journey, this IN-BETWEEN. It is a very difficult thing to finally know what road I am about to embark on. First thing I need is a title I like. I cannot write ANYTHING without a good title. Next I need a soundtrack. My Ipod becomes my muse- each song a scene.

I just recently stepped out from the IN BETWEEN and began a new YA Novel. One I am extremely excited about.I have my title and I have my soundtrack. I am having a difficult time reaching cruising altitude with it as I try to find its proper voice, but being out of the IN BETWEEN is always a step in the right direction. The mumbling stops. The grunting and the grumpiness cease. I feel human again.