Even A Scattered Mind Can Put It All Together

I prefer wide-base coffee cups to the ones that taper to a slim bottom for the simple reason that my movements tend to be quick and the chances of knocking the cup over increases (and with it sitting next my keyboard 99% of the time, I don' t like taking chances). These quick movements are much like the way my brain functions. Type A+++. Too much multitasking has splintered my mind and while that can come in handy, containing my thoughts can be a challenge. My friend calls it "monkey brain," an affliction she has diagnosed herself with. Note to self: Ask her what the heck IS "monkey brain?"

Anyway, back to my fragmented mind. When writing, I know the beginning and end. I know the conflicts my characters will experience, but to go from point A to point B is not a path I find easy to take. It's too organized for me. Throughout the day I think of scenes and character comments and write them down in my notebook. They are hardly in chronological order, but are just things I can see my characters saying and doing. From there I can put it all together like a puzzle. Only then can I get my mind to relax so I can step back and see it as a whole, fill in the gaps, and add depth to everything.

I find it easier to just write, write, write, no matter how it looks on paper. It may or may not make sense, but I just try to get the general idea down. I look at it like regurgitating my thoughts on the page and then when I am done, I'll go back in and clean it up. So often I will stare at my screen and before I know it, an hour has passed without so much as a sentence typed, all because I was trying to get it to sound right or I was searching for the perfect word. What a complete waste of my valuable time. It's much more gratifying to have written pages of scribble for an hour than to walk away not having anything to show for it. The act of writing a story makes you feel like a writer, and when you feel like a writer, you are a writer, plain and simple.

Just the Beginning

There weren't many, but somehow I snatched enough moments from my over-booked life to finish my first novel, a historical/contemporary romance, Forever Yours. Over the eight years it took to write it, I learned quite a few lessons. Unfortunately I didn't realize them until the last couple of years, but better late than never.

Probably the most important is to schedule time for writing every day. Every seasoned writer will tell you this. It is like taking a part of your paycheck and putting it away. Time is money. Your writing is an investment in yourself. This was something I failed to do and it tacked on way too many years from beginning to end.

I was so excited, though, that my first inclination was to let everyone and anyone read what I wrote and I found out I should have been more selective. I think it is a good idea to narrow the list down to those who are actually eager to read your work, although even then it doesn't mean that they will. Someone who is familiar with the genre and who can be brutally honest is someone I would seek out. A placating "That's really good" may serve to stroke the ego, but isn't really helpful - at least for me anyway. Makes me wonder if they really did like my writing or if they are saying that just to be nice. That is not to say that sharing your work with friends and family shouldn't be done. It just depends on why you are doing it.

Stand firm in your vision. Other people's opinions are just that. Opinions. Weed through them and embrace the ones that resonate with you and either toss the others out or pack them away to revisit later.

Finishing my novel, albeit later than sooner, has given birth to a new level of boldness and creative flow. At first, when I had typed the last few words of my novel, there was a feeling of let down, like now what? But after a week or so of having a pity party, a voice inside my head (couldn't tell you which one because there are, in fact, many) started rattling off story ideas, both new ones and ones that I had stashed away until I finished my first novel. Key word here. My FINISHED novel. I did it once and I could and would do it again and again. Actually I have no choice. I love the written word. Period.

After the enormous task of editing Forever Yours multiple times and sending out query letters, I shifted my focus to all the other story ideas I had while I waited to hear (or not) from potential agents. I went to my writing notebook and found all the little notes and scribbled ideas of future books and dug in. Labeling four different notebooks with working titles of my soon-to-be novels made it easy to keep my outlines and ideas in order. So far I have a young adult paranormal, young adult fantasy, young adult science fiction, and a women's fiction (co-writing with a writing buddy of mine) simmering and ready to go. I have a few other novel ideas, but those will have to wait in line.

So here I go. The process starts once again. I can't wait. I still have to steal moments, but for the most part, I readily give them to myself, handing them over with a smile that just won't quit.