Thanks to some critical feedback, I’ve decided to make another major change to the focus of the novel. Originally the story switched back and forth between the real life conflicts of the Dreamers and their adventures in the Land of Nou. But it became unwieldy – Poguri’s story (he is the main character lest I forget) was being obscured.

So then I decided to focus more on Maddie, as developing one character more thoroughly gave the story more focus than delving into the personal details of six or so. But as is my tendency, I tried to stuff too much “other stuff” into the novel that didn’t belong, such as some of my real life passions around certain social issues. I vowed from the start that Land of Nou would not be any sort of social commentary, but as I continued to write out Maddie’s story, that’s exactly what it was becoming.

And this created a schism between the Waking and the Dreaming, and a the problem of Maddie’s story having very little to do with the overall conflict in the Land of Nou.  Lest I forget, the story is called Land of Nou!  Now I have decided that the dreamers will be introduced as they were originally – their dreams opening paths to the Land of Nou – but that from there the setting will remain in the Land of Nou, and not delve into the Dreamers’ Waking narratives at all.  There will be a strong Waking component – something I cannot reveal – but it is directly relevant to the conflict in the Land of Nou, which makes for a more focused story.  With this decision I have been able to resume writing, although the going is still slow.  But one word at a time is better than no words at all.

Sometimes real life is the biggest obstacle to fantasy – writing it, anyway. It’s been months since I’ve done any serious work on the story, and I wish I could say it was because I’m juggling work and school or some similar excuse, but the truth is that I just haven’t been inspired.

On some level I think that maybe I’m not cut out to be the writer of this story. While I believe the concept to be sound, I am not certain I have the know-how to flesh it out fully into prose. Every book that I read for inspiration actually seems to have the opposite effect, that is making me painfully aware of how I am lacking as a writer.

Pony Ride

But there is hope. One of the things that usually always stirs my inspiration is new artwork. I’ve recently started a collaboration with an artist named Paul Davey, whose style coincides with a new desire to take the illustrations into a more “realistic” direction.  On top of that, his work also blurs the line between fantasy and reality, which is one of the main themes in Poguri and the Land of Nou.

Now tell me, did you notice the  two giant bears in the background?  If not, look again.

That I found Mr. Davey at all was nothing short of what Carl Jung would refer to as synchronicity, but that cynics might consider a mere coincidence.  Either way, I foresee a very fruitful partnership, and hope that I can draw some inspiration from his work and put it towards finishing the novel.

It’s probably not a secret to anyone who follows this blog – and I’m actually convinced that no one does – but I haven’t even touched the novel in weeks.  My plan to write 2 pages per day was derailed by a serious lapse in confidence, and a general lack of motivation.  It also doesn’t help that most of every day is spent engaged in some really soul-draining work.  Still, there is hope.

God's Debris

Recently I’ve been reading the works of Scott Adams of Dilbert fame, not the Dilbert books themselves, but God’s Debris and The Religion War.  Apart from the stimulating content of these works, Adams chose to write them in a way that would appeal to people with short attention spans – like young people.  My attention span of late has shortened, just in that I find a need to fill my every waking moment with some sort of stimulation.

So I’ve found Adams’ works to be enjoyable in that he spares the reader the usual excess of details.  Both books can be finished in one sitting – a few hours at most, and in a way, it’s refreshing.  Applying this to Poguri and the Land of Nou, I think that perhaps I have been stalled by some need to write the next epic children’s novel.  In my determination to write something that was “literature” as well as entertainment – i.e. socially and/or culturally relevant – I’ve gotten caught up in the details.

The thought occured to me before to write the Land of Nou story as a series of chapter books – short 150-200 page affairs that a child could tear through in an afternoon.  My commitment to writing an epic sidelined that idea before it had the opportunity to blossom.  Now the idea has returned, and I’ve come to realize that the chapter book format does not necessarily preclude the work from being classified as literature.

The tenative plan now is to give each major character individual attention – to tell the overall story from each of their perspectives as they travel back and forth between the waking world and the Land of Nou.  With my current day job scheduled to end soon due to lay-offs, I should have more time to devote to the projects which really matter to me.  Poguri and the Land of Nou, of course, is at the top of that list.

One of the reasons I was aiming to complete the book by the end of the year was so that it coincided with the start of an MFA in Creative Writing Program in which I planned to enroll. However, a reality check flew in with the subtlety of a brick when I was rejected by not one, but two separate MFA programs.

At worst I could see these rejections as evidence that I am not a good writer, and at best…well, frankly, there is no silver lining. I am wrestling with the possibility that I am not a writer, but rather a “conceptualizer” – the guy who comes up with good ideas, but may not be so great at delivering them.

On the other hand, I am aware that if the idea is good enough, the writing doesn’t have to be, as long as it doesn’t “get in the way” of the idea. I can think of at least one popular book series for which this seems to be true, although I wouldn’t really say the idea for that series is too good, either. While the rejections dampened my enthusiasm towards this project for several days, I’ve decided to forge ahead. I am now determined to spite these two schools by writing the “next great children’s novel”. Whether or not I can achieve that, of course, remains to be seen…