A little help with Motivation.

Many writers will say when they've come to a point where they can't write that their Muse has fled. I used to be one of them. But I finally figured out that, with me at least, such is not the case. After all, as I've said many times before writing goes on in my head all the time. Stories in progress get written further, and new ideas for stories--and, of course, characters for those stories--come to me just about every day. I realized after all these years that this means Lady Le Muse (as I affectionately refer to my imagination; Muses in Greek mythology being traditionally female and all) never really leaves me. It's her sister, Miss Motivation (the drive to actually get anything done), that takes off on the red-eye to who knows where. 

I mean, ask any writer and they will tell you that all the stresses we deal with in our daily lives can take a toll on us. Oftentimes we encounter periods where we really want to write, because the voices in our head are demanding to be heard, but can find absolutely no motivation to do so. This is bad for several reasons, not the least of which is the stories don't get told--which means we don't get paid because we're not doing our jobs. And as we all know, just thinking about writing doesn't make one an author. You actually have to do some actual writing. Sometimes just forcing yourself to sit at the keyboard and type or take pencil and paper in hand and scribble away is what it takes to get the ball rolling again. I've even done this myself and had it work beautifully. 

But it's not working this time around. I sit here with both laptop and notebook at the ready and the most writing I've done in weeks is this here post, the prologue of a book that is back on the proverbial shelf indefinitely, one book review, and a few messages to fellow authors I'm connected with on Facebook. And it really sucks, because I do want to write. I want to get back to doing something I really love to do, telling stories. So I've decided that since my current WIP, From the Shadows, has stalled so terribly, I'm going to try shaking some sense into Miss Motivation by turning my attention to another story. I've got two things in mind, and if you read this post, please comment with your opinion on whether or not I should go for the one-shot dystopian romantic adventure that came to me out of the clear blue sky the other day, or the first book of a new series featuring firefighters, which has been rolling around in my head for a few weeks now. I'd really appreciate the help!!