Putting the Un in UnMotivation

Writers are supposed to establish a space, a sanctuary where they can and will write without distraction. Considering my three sons (the reality, not the television show), setting up such a haven at home is an impossibility. Plus, my home PC has games. Crappy ones, but I'm currently running a streak of 140+ consecutive wins at FreeCell. That should continue indefinitely until Justin decides to give it a go. Which would be best, because the pressure to maintain perfection is excruciating. I can't quit a game early, which becomes difficult when Les calls me away from the computer only seconds after starting a game. Sure, it may only take three minutes, but that's time I'm teaching my boys it's okay to delay or procrastinate. Add it to the list of things I've unwittingly instructed, and before I know it, I'll have children who can build pyramids... Later.

Back to my original point. I write from work. That's where I have less distractions. Even so, I've cleared out the detractors that suck at my attention and effort, answering overdue emails, entering receipts into my budget, straightening my desk, checking my Facebook and friends' blogs, and organizing my tote bag. So, of course, it's twenty minutes before I leave for the day.

A friend and I have worked and reworked a story too many times and I'm still unsatisfied with the conclusion. One murder takes place and a second killing happens in self-defense, but the best motive we've used so far is "madness." As in "The killer was crazy." Which is crap. I've searched every corner of my vacuous mind to determine the story - as is - isn't worth reworking again. So I'm removing the murder altogether and replacing it with a kidnapping. (Maybe that's what motivated the recent THR instructions?)

The new dynamic of the story deals with a kidnapper who got what he wanted from the kidnapped (kidnappee?), then doesn't know how to return him without getting caught. Ransom demands generally include escape transportation, international Visas/passports, or everyone to look away while the bad guy sneaks off.

This situation is considerably smaller - no ransom note. The kidnapper gets the victim specifically so the victim can do something. The victim reluctantly-but-eventually complies. And there I am.

I've sat on it too long, and need to rediscover the momentum that carried my interest so deeply into the original story, even if this incarnation bears little resemblance to that one. I write this as a challenge to myself, a hard-lined opportunity to accomplish something. YES! Tomorrow, I WILL finish that draft!

Or, at the very least, I'll delete this post.