Ready or Not

Okay, so I couldn't help it.

I fully intended to take things slowly with the new novel I'm starting. I've been spending some time getting to know my characters, their motivations, their quirks, their secrets, their longings, etc. But there was nothing I could do to stop the words from coming. I had to write them down. I already have a rough first chapter and the beginning of a second. It all happened so fast -- I just got swept up in the excitement of this new world, these new people. But now, I'm taking a breath and slowing the pace back down again. I know it will make all the difference at critique and revision time.

How's your writing going? Does the same thing ever happen to you?

Part of it has to do with the fact that my writing has to be crammed into very compressed periods of time -- in between, my mind collects bits and pieces, molding and shaping them until I'm sitting down at the laptop again to put them all together.

The writing process is different for everyone. Heck, it's different for me now than it was even a few years ago. Some people write their stories totally out of order, getting immediately to the "good parts," while others are linear writers, like author Randy Susan Meyers. I recently sat down with her in preparation for the upcoming Author Series (2/27), and she had so many insights to share. Stay tuned: I will be posting a short Q&A with her prior to her seminar and reading at the end of this month. By the way, I finished her book, The Murderer's Daughters, last week and it's still with me -- it was THAT good.