Project, project...always a project

I grew up with a Dad who always had to have a project of some sort to work on. He didn't work on it every day, particularly during planting and harvest, but he always had something or two to work on. I have siblings who are like that - especially my twin brother - and I've come to realize I'm like that with my writing. Even as I'm busy with freelance work (thankfully), my brain is chewing on plot points for multiple books and the muse is itching to get busy on one or more of them. NaNoWriMo is upon us (National Novel Writing Month), and while I won't "officially" participate, I look forward to fussing around and letting the muse start working on these projects.

40,000

I've reached 40,000 words in my next novel, tentatively titled SHATTERED RHYMES.

I like where the story is going and how we've arrived there. Pecking away at the keys as part of NaNoWriMo, it's like getting to know old friends again.

No, not all 40,000 words have been written in four days. I pretty much shelved the book for the last 7 months or so, after we learned of my mother's cancer diagnosis and her eventual passing in early June.

The muse shut down, just as it did 14 years ago after learning of my youngest sister's diagnosis of breast cancer. Fortunately, she was able to beat it and is doing very well now.

And, fortunately, the muse was merely on hiatus, as SHATTERED RHYMES has shown. It's a very different book than FALLEN TREES, but like FT it's a story that wouldn't let me alone. Once the idea sprouted, the muse kept tugging at me with more and more details until I realized I had to do something with it. I have no word count goal or timetable for completion, but I've got to keep going until it's done.

And then the hard work begins, as any writer will tell you: honing the drafts until it's tight and gleaming. If the reaction to FALLEN TREES has taught me anything, it's to trust my instincts.

Time to join the party

November is National Novel Writing Month around the nation, during which writers strive to write a book within the next 30 days.

I've never officially taken part in the venture, simply because my job has always been so demanding that I couldn't promise to have much time to devote to writing a book.

But I'm going to dip my toes in the water this year just to see how it goes. I won't vow to start and finish a novel or write a minimum number of words each day. I'll just work on either SHATTERED RHYMES, the novel I'm currently writing, or see if the muse wants to get started on something else.

After all, I have a half-dozen novels waiting their turn - and the muse is even stirring some on a potential sequel to FALLEN TREES (which would be good news for all the readers who have been demanding one).

It may seem a folly to throw together a novel in 30 days, but as this story shows, some really good work has been produced. Yes, I was surprised, too.