A writer’s work is never truly done, in my opinion. I think that a good practice is to always be working on something – whether it’s a full writing project, outlines for a potential project, or a blog.
Before the end of the year, my first novel will be fully immersed in the beta-reading stage. That means it’ll be out of my hands until the jury, er, beta readers read it through and provide input. I don’t want to be stagnant during that time, though. I want to keep the flow going and I already have ideas waiting in the wings to help me accomplish that.
But, even after those projects are done, there are others waiting to be brought to life and inflicted upon the masses. I am very grateful to have enough material to keep me happily busy for the next few years – to start – with more inspiration coming almost daily.
A little over a year ago, I had a conversation with a friend that stoked an idea for story material. I’m pleased to say that the story is now the basis of the novel I’ve just completed and am in the process of editing. This isn’t to say that every idea that pops into my head will eventually be brought to literary light. For every idea that has been expanded into an outline, there are probably five that are nixed. My brain can be a scary thing at times in the way it churns out ideas, and my imagination is probably the UnSub from Criminal Minds in the way it methodically runs with the idea and twists it into configurations that are sometimes unsettling.
It’s as if Billy the Puppet is my brain, and wheels in to ask the tantalizing question:
Yes, Billy. Yes, I do.
