Chasing the Writing High, 2015, by Aaron Lazar

copyright 2015 aplazar


It's early November. The Finger Lakes region has been beautiful lately, gorgeous with its purple asters and bright yellow goldenrod, deep blue skies and splashes of red and orange streaking the hillsides. Apples are plentiful—huge, crisp, and sweet, they are better this year than most farmers can remember. We’ve had our first frost, and most mornings there is a long, cottony cloud snuggled into the valley atop Conesus Lake.

I've been slogging through the revamping my Write Like the Wind writing guides, adding new articles, checking links, and updating information. I’ve also invited some amazing authors to stop in for “guest” essays, sharing their advice for authors of all skill levels. It’s been fun, but I’m really ready to write something fresh and new. In other words, some fiction. I’m craving it badly. To put it right out in the open: I need my fix.

Before this sidestep back into nonfiction about fiction, I’ve written quite a few books over the past few years, and since I started editing this series of writing guides, I miss that daily writing high. Bringing these novels out of the depths of my brain and out to the public was so darned satisfying, filling my aching need to do some serious armchair travel mixed with a touch of love.

But I have more to do yet with this writing guide series. I’m not finished. I need to put a few more weeks into this project before I can reward myself with the start of a new novel.

Soon, I tell myself. Soon. Yet I find my mind keeps wandering to the new plot, the characters I’ll introduce. This time, I’m adding to my Paines Creek Beach series. The Seacrest and The Seacroft will be followed by The Seadog. Don’t you love that name? I am itching to get started.

I was going to kill off Finn, the protagonist in The Seacrest and an important part of The Seacroft. Then, to prepare for the writing of the next book in the series, I started listening to The Seacrest audiobook on my morning walks. George Kuch did such a fantastic job on this narration, by the way. I really love his voice. Anyway, after listening and getting back into the story, I realized I could never kill Finn. He’s too much a part of me. And he loves Libby way too much for me to stick him in a coffin. So, this morning, I decided to switch around the plot and tell the story from a new character’s point of view. I’m going to give Libby a half-sister she never knew she had. Don’t you love that secret sister thing?

I've been craving writing fiction for a few months now, wanting it so badly, I was starting to get depressed.

So, this morning I did it. I broke my own rules and jumped ahead into the lovely world of creativity. I let the first chapter stream out through my fingers onto the keyboard, and thus Scout was born, with her flaming red long hair, deep green eyes, and troubled past. I don't really know where this story is going, except that I've got to save her from whomever is chasing her, introduce her to someone to love, and somehow, miraculously, find a “happily ever after” for her.

Hey, someone's gotta do it. 

If you love to write, remember to write like the wind. ;o)

Aaron Paul Lazar

www.lazarbooks.com