CAN’T SEE THE WOOD FOR THE TREES

Have you ever done something, as a way to just act as a place holder, but then when the time comes to get back to the task, you just get stuck?

I’ve done it, and I’m stuck.

The book I’m currently writing isn’t a part of The Circle series. I’ve had the idea for years and it started it’s life as a short story that was going to include in my first book of short stories, Tall Tales for Dark Nights. As I worked on it, the word count grew and grew until it was clear that the story was just too big so I set it aside while I worked on my novels and the other short stories I’ve put together, fully intending to dive back in at some point in the future, and with that in mind I saved the file and off I went.

The problem was though, what should I call this story?

I hadn’t finished the story.

I hadn’t fleshed out the characters.

I hadn’t even fully decided on what would actually happen at the end of the book.

I think it’s fair to say that with all of that still outstanding, there was a real question mark over what the title should be.

When I came up with the title of my first book, The Circle of Fire, it made sense not only as a stand alone novel but as a part of the remaining series that I had in mind so I was able to settle on the title pretty early on. With my current WIP, I made, what I thought was, a good move and gave the story a place holder title which had been growing on me as I’d written the short story. And in doing so, I planted a land mine for future me to deal with.

Future me is now present me, and I hate past me.

I know the working title is nothing more than a temporary label but for the life of me, I just can’t seem to get past it to sort out a new title.

I’ve got the book mapped out fully, I’m making pretty good headway to finishing it, and yet, when I even slightly consider the appropriate title, that bloody place holder just looms back at me, utterly obscuring everything else. It’s like someone telling you NOT to think of a green elephant so that’s all that you can picture.

I’m not at the point yet of just slamming my fists down on the desk and screaming about the pain and suffering of it all but as I close in on the back end of the process, knowing that I still need a title is starting to mock me a little. I’m not going to force the issue while I keep on writing because I’ve got to trust the process I work with. I know when the title comes along that I’ll grab it and everything will seem so daft, I was getting worried for nothing etc.

The biggest takeaway, though, is making sure that I don’t make things more awkward than they need to be in the future by setting up my own blocks.

Stay safe all.