All right, I admit it.
I’ve got nothing.
I thought that my “Dirty Little Freaks” idea was a good one, and I did get some positive feedback from people. It still could be a great project. I’m just not sure that it is one that I am ready for right now.
The only thing I have written so far is an “introduction” that actually limits the project, and which I already think will need to be scrapped. There’s nothing wrong with the character, just the idea that he is the narrator of the series. Making each story something that he has encountered or heard about in his travels would mean that the stories would be limited to something in his time and world.
Not a good idea. I want the option of throwing in some fantasy stories, and maybe some science fiction as well. So if I do decide to continue with this project I am going to have to toss out my beginning and start from scratch.
Of course, that depends on whether or not I want to start over. First, I have to come up with some more ideas. And nothing is coming.
One of my friends gave me the idea of riffing on the seven dwarves of Snow White fame. I thought that was probably a good idea, but when it comes down to getting words on the page, nothing is coming to mind. It’s hard to write a decent story without a starting point.
Maybe, what I really need to do is forget about the seven dwarves and just start writing something. Anything. And if the opportunity presents itself I can thrown in one of my dirty little freaks and call it done. If not, at least I will have a story, which is the main point of this exercise. I don’t have to have a coherent theme in these stories, it just was a nice idea. The important thing is to get some work done. Some art in my portfolio. Some horses in my stable.
I promised myself I would get one story done a week. Even though I think I will be tossing out what I already wrote, technically it was a story while it lasted, so it counts. I may try to replace it with another one if something comes to mind, but meanwhile I will just work on getting something on the page by Saturday.
I’ll check in again on Sunday to let you know how it went. See you then!
Author in Progress 
I’m always in the “just write anything” camp. That’s what I did last night. Felt exactly what you’re saying (I got nothin’), so I just put my playlist on random shuffle and wrote about a character I’ve had in my head for a while using the music as inspiration. No worries about where it’s going or whether it’s “worth” keeping. Just words.
Just keep it up, Scott. Sometimes, it’s good to let the ideas flow and see what comes out. And not every story ends up being a winner. At least you’re writing.
I am also in the ‘just write anything’ camp. At least for me, if I focus too much on the not-producing-exactly-the-write-thing I eventually produce nothing at all, for a long time. You may not have written something that will pan out in the long run, but at least you stretched your muscles. Good luck!