I didn't ask for this story.

It looks like my vampire story is going to become a real book.  I've got a rough outline of where I think its going and an idea of the themes I want to explore.

Terrible strategic planning.  I'm all over the map with my writing.  I'd be better off if I could write one kind of story and keep writing that kind of story.

But as I've mentioned before, my subconscious writes what my subconscious wants to write.  That may sound silly, but I'm telling you, it isn't a conscious decision.  Thing is, if I write at quickly, even if it turns out to be a wrong move, I've gotten it out of the way. Agonizing over WHAT to write for two or three months, when I could actually be writing something during that same timespan, seems crazy to me now.

Meanwhile, I'm in the unusual position of feeling like I need to...slow... my... writing... down.  Pace myself.

Normally, I want to write while the writing is hot, but from now on,  I want to keep the well full.

I've mentioned before that I used to have this sense of a "well" of water (creativity) that fills up and starts to overflow.  As long as the well is full, I can keep dipping into it.  But if the well is depleted, I need to back off.  This image has come back to me.  I'm back to measuring the well every day.

I think it's a matter of trusting the subconscious to come up with the story.  The solutions to problems.  For instance, I'm never going to worry about a story being long enough again -- I'm never going to try to come up with "filler."

This newest effort, I'm more or less letting it come to me.  I'm not pushing it.  At the same time, though, I am trying to apply my critical brain so that I don't go too far astray.

A tricky balance -- the creative and the critical at the same time.

For this vampire story, I decided on a theme that is a little on the downer side.  I mean, I really like it.  A vampire with a conscience.  But that alone would not make a satisfying story.

So I decided what I needed was a second, nastier vampire who can supply the story with all the thrills and chills it needs.

That's what I mean by using the critical part. What is this story missing, that I'd want if I was reading it?

I'm hoping I can write this more in the Freedy mode than in the Nearly Human mode.  I think it's probably more effective to keep producing rather than struggle with the same story over and over again.

Unexpected story, though.