Dreams redeaux

okay, I told you I would come back with something from my dreams... well, here it is.

Somebody decide what this one is!

I dreamt I was on the phone with someone from my past who always had a knack for making me feel insignificant and unimportant and stupid. As usual, this person was working really hard to that end.

In my dream, I hung up the phone and told myself that one day I would be someone who never had to endure the feeling that I felt. And I dreamt this dream like a week ago, and I still remember it. I remember feeling so hurt and dreary.

What do you think? Think you could write a scene using this dream? Could you capture the feeling that I felt, that sinking stomach feeling that -- I don't know, the- I don't matter feeling. What word am I searching for? Insignificant works but it isn't really what I mean.

Oh well, I will think about it and post comments on Thursday. If you use this exercise, send me a link so I can read it!!

Are You A Writer Or Not?

copyright 2011 by Ron Adams

On the dawning of the next National Novel Writer’s Month (NaNoWriMo) in November, I have been thinking about writing the perfect novel. Personally, I don’t think it can be done, nor should it. The purpose of exercises like NaNoWriMo is to practice writing, and you don’t practice to write the perfect novel. You practice writing to become a better writer, a better storyteller, and to create a story readers will want to read again and again.You practice to master structure and form, and to create characters that readers will identify with and stand the test of time.


The perfect novel, or the perfect writer for that matter, will never exist. However, this does not mean it’s not a worthwhile goal. Like any business, and I can say this because many of us writers in the early stages of our career have day jobs, you have to accept that you can improve and make your stories better. I live to re-write, even when I hate it, because I’ve learned something that can make my writing better.

When I wrote my first novel, I was pleased after all the edits and re-writes to find a publisher willing to take it on. Then the feedback came, and it was split between kind and complimentary and harsh and insulting. I went back and re-read the story, and I earned every criticism. Maybe not the insults, but the legitimate criticism was well founded. So when I finally got the rights to my story back, I went to work and re-did a lot of the story, tightened up the characterizations and plot, improved on the picky details, and tidied the language to improve both structure and flow. I learned all these things along the way, mostly by writing, writing, writing. And in the end, the second edition of this story will be, I feel, a big improvement over the original, and much more readable.


If you’ve ever told anyone that you are a writer, and I know this has happened to me, eventually you will find someone who says they have always wanted to write, and eventually they will give you an avalanche of reasons they have never quite gotten to it. What separates a real writer from the dreamers, is the willingness to put in the hours, to hone their skills, to learn their craft and to never stop doing all those things. So, are you a writer, or what?

October Writing Critique by the MB4 Team

Good Morning MB4 friends. Following is this month's writing critique. We had some great comments, but they're tough to integrate into one cohesive and easy-to-follow segment. So, we've copied one section of the piece twice to illustrate our ideas. Hope it works for you. ;o)

Thanks, Kathryn, for submitting your writing sample, and best of luck with your future work!

- Ron Adams

- Kim Smith

- Marta Stephens

- Aaron Lazar

Dying to Dream – Kathryn Long

Jack Robesaux decided he was dying, his soul tearing away from him, bit by miserable bit. He pored over his circumstance of life while sitting at the bar, sipping his beer. He had ceased all thought on how many would be his limit five drinks ago. The images of this afternoon at the boat auction had become blurred in his mind. He went there to watch. He figured his time would come soon enough and he might as well learn the ins and outs of it. Depressed as always and needing something to drown the mood, he headed for town, only to decide the bars in Saint Toulere would be too personal. So,[RA1]  he drove to New Orleans with her neon rainbow of lights and buzzing of loud and raucous conversation to bury his sorrows, lose himself in all of it, and maybe never come back out[AL2] .

"I'll have another," he called[AL3]  to the bartender who passed by. Then, he heard the scrape of a chair as someone pulled up beside him. He turned a blurred eye to gauge a rather tall man with gray hair sticking out from under a ball cap.

"Howdy." The man extended a hand and broadened his smile. "Name's Joe Toole."

Jack nodded, but kept his hand wrapped around the beer mug. "Jack Robesaux." Afterward, he turned back to concentrate on the bartender. "Think you could manage to bring me that beer sometime this evening?" he snapped. Though he couldn't think too clearly, he knew his mood dipped into the mean side when he drank enough.

"You from around here? I haven't seen you in Sully's before, and I come regular." Joe motioned for the bartender who nodded and approached without a wait. "Hey, Sully. Bring my friend another beer and I'll have a boilermaker."

"Thanks," Jack said. He wasn't sure about Joe Toole, but then again, he wasn't sure about most people, strangers especially[RA4] . Still, he wanted someone to talk to, he ached for it. "I come up from Saint Toulere. You know it?"

Joe shook his head. "Can't say I do. But then again, I don't travel much. When I do, it's out on the water. At least that's how I used to spend my days." He downed the shot of whiskey and followed it with a swig of his beer[RA5] .

Jack raised his brow. "You fish, then?"

"Yep. But of course after the spill, I lost most of my business. Had to sell the big boat. Nice fishing boat, it was. Now, I'm in business with my brother. Together we manage to support what's ours. How about you?"

Jack stared at the amber and foamy white in his mug. "I fished. Like you though, I lost what I had. My boat sits at the dock, collecting seaweed."

"You got family?"

He thought about what to say. Marie was gone, years ago. And Trent went his own way, rather than join him in business. He saw him often enough, but his son had his life and Jack another. "A son. Wife's been dead for almost ten years[AL6] [RA7] ."

---

 [RA1]Don’t really need the comma there. Might be better after New Orleans.Or even break it up into two sentences instead.

 [AL2]Love the description of New Orleans. Nice!

 [AL3]Sometimes we can eliminate prepositions to make the flow smoother.

 [RA4]How would this sound..”strangers even more”?

 [RA5]How do you think he felt? Sounds like he might be bitter…

 [AL6]Kathryn – I like your dialogue, it sounds very natural and real. You made me want to know what happened to this guy and the details around him losing his wife and fishing business.

 [RA7]I really like the way this started, Kathryn. I can see the two of them somehow forming a partnership, and the plot spinning from there. Nice job.

---

Comment from Kim Smith:

Kathy- I think this one is almost there. I could feel Jack’s angst, but didn’t understand why, which intrigued me. Then, I didn’t understand why he was so rude to the bartender after going to a place he KNEW would be loud and busy-and obviously have slow service- and he went there purposefully to stay away from a more personal atmosphere. Maybe this is explained better by reading more than this tidbit? Any way, it made him unlikeable to me. Also, if he truly wished to be anonymous and left alone to drown his sorrows, it seems like to me he wouldn’t be aching for someone to talk to, either, not as you say he was doing when Joe arrived. Just thought I would point out your motivations, and how you may have veered off course. Thank you for your contribution here at Mb4!

Comment from Marta Stephens:

This is quite good and intrigues me enough to want to read more. The only comment I have is that some the sentence are short and choppy. They could be connected (see example) in order to reduce the number of pronounce used. Nice! SEE SEGMENT BELOW WITH YELLOW HIGHLIGHTS.

 

Suggestions from Marta on combining sentences to make it a little less choppy:

Jack Robesaux decided he was dying, his soul tearing away from him, bit by miserable bit and poured over his circumstance of life while sitting at the bar, sipping his beer. He had ceased all thought on how many would be his limit about five drinks ago. The images of this afternoon at the boat auction had become blurred in his mind. He went there to watch and figured his time would come soon enough and might as well learn the ins and outs of it. Depressed as always and needing something to drown the mood, Jack headed for town, only to decide the bars in Saint Toulere would be too personal. So, he drove to New Orleans with her neon rainbow of lights and buzzing of loud and raucous conversation to bury his sorrows there, lose himself in all of it, and maybe never come back out..[AL1].

---

 

 

Misconceptions About Literary Agents, by Andy Ross

copyright 2011, Andy Ross

Andy Ross, Literary Agent

Let's face it. Most of you who have never worked with a literary agent probably think that the 15% agency commission is sort of …well…unfair. A kind of baksheesh paid to the middleman in the literary souk who can use his connections to get you access to the celebrity editor at Knopf. Most published writers will tell you otherwise. Check out the acknowledgements page at the back of any book. Authors love their agents, and recognize that the agent's work goes far beyond dickering over deal points.  

Here are a few of the misconceptions about agents that seem to be going around in writers' circles.

1) It's better to be represented by a New York agent. Obviously I'm annoyed by this surprisingly widely held belief, since I live and work in the San Francisco Bay Area. A lot of writers seem to think that getting published is all about the agent's physical proximity to editors and the number of times per month they have lunch with them. The famous "publisher's lunch" is from another era. And it is unclear that this was an important ritual in the acquisition process even then. All of the editors I talk to will tell you that the key consideration of an acquisition decision is whether the book has commercial potential. Publishers are under incredible pressure from their multimedia conglomerate parent corporations to make money on every book they publish. If your book is a bad business proposition, no amount of martinis at lunch is going to convince the publisher otherwise. I talk to a lot of book editors even though I work in California. They tell me that the most important thing you can provide them with is a convincing book proposal. You don't have to be in New York to do that.  

2) It's better to be represented by a big (prestigious) New York agency. There are no good or bad agencies. There are just good or bad agents. That said, there are some advantages to having one of these big agencies on your side, but not the advantages that you might think. At the end of the day a celebrity agent isn't going to give you an edge, and can't deliver a contract for a project that would not otherwise get published. If you have a big book with lots of subsidiary rights opportunities (movie deals, foreign markets, merchandise tie-ins), it would be nice to have a big agency that could seamlessly handle all these deal elements. But even there, most good independent agents can serve you well.

And there is a downside to working with these big agencies as well. They are extremely selective in the projects they take on. A lot of these agencies are not looking for new writers. If you aren't a literary superstar, you might be better served by a newer agent who is building a list and is willing to take some chances by seeking out new talent. And always, always, you are better served by an agent who has the time and the imagination to help you shape your ideas and the passion to believe in your talent. You want an agent who will not just flip a contract but who will work with you to develop your career as a writer. There are some very good agents at the big New York agencies who will do this and other agents who are just too busy. The same is true of independent agents.
 
3) The agent's 15% commission is a rip off. It's payola to get your foot in the door. Actually, sometimes that's true. I've heard a lot of stories about agents who have done very little other than send your proposal around (usually to the same ten editors they like to work with) and then either drop you or flip a contract and disappear. That's a bad agent. If you are going to give an agent a 15% commission, you might as well make sure that she is earning it. The work of an agent is a lot more than sending out your project and dickering over deal points. A good agent will help you refine your idea in a way that will make it easier to sell, will lead you through the book proposal process, may even provide detailed edits on your novel or memoir, will negotiate the contract, will be your advocate during the publishing process, will help you exploit all the subsidiary rights opportunities for the material in the book, and will advise you on promotion when the book comes out. A good agent will earn that 15%. So try to find one of those.  

4) I went with the agent who promised me the six figure deal. Most of the agents I know won't do this, but I still hear about it from writers. It's pretty hard to predict what kind of publisher advance a project will draw these days. What I can predict is that the advance offers will be a whole lot lower than they were several years ago. It's important to have an agent whom you can trust. Anyone who employs this kind of enticement is pretty suspect.  

5) A good agent can get me a lot more money. This is a little complicated. An agent can work with you to develop a concept that is more attractive (and valuable) to a publisher and can help you compose a book proposal that will generate excitement from an acquiring editor. If there is competition for your book from several publishers, an agent can employ some sophisticated bargaining strategies to help improve a deal offer. And an agent can negotiate contract terms that may address issues affecting future royalties. But if you are in a situation with only a single publisher making an offer, one must assume that the publisher knows in advance how much she is willing to pay for a project. The job of the agent is to find out what that number is. In spite of what they may tell you, agents are not in possession of alchemical powers that will turn lead into gold. An agent can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.  

6) A good agent can help me find a prestigious editor. This might or might not be true, but the real misconception is whether or not the writer will be better off with a "prestigious" editor. I believe that the best editor for a project is the editor who understands and believes in that project. This might be the editorial director of a large imprint, but it might also be a young assistant editor hungry for building a list. Recently I spoke to an author whose editor was one of these legendary guys in publishing. The author was unhappy, because he felt the editor didn't give him the time he needed. I believe that. I had one client who insisted that I only send his work to the most prestigious editors working at the most prestigious imprints, regardless of whether those editors had any interest in the subject being written about. One of the most common causes for rejection is: "this book doesn't really fit my list." A good agent will find you an editor who believes in your book. That is more important than having a superstar editor. 

7) Never work with an inexperienced agent. Since I was an inexperienced agent not too long ago, I fully understand the downside of working with one. There are lots of things in book publishing that a person can only learn from experience. Fortunately I had been in the book business for 35 years when I became an agent and came onto the job knowing quite a bit, but there were still lots of holes in my knowledge. A lot of agents, many in the big agencies, can be pretty young and inexperienced. But this is not always such a bad thing. Some of these agents are pretty sharp and have a good eye for a project. And they are more likely to take a chance on a new writer. In the book business, developing new talent is a thankless but important job and it usually falls to the agents who have not yet built their lists.  

Do yourself a favor. Find an agent who earns his commission.
 
Check out some of Andy's clients, here:

 

Andy Ross has been a literary agent since January 2008. Prior to that, he was the owner of Cody's Books in Berkeley, California for 30 years.

Andy specializes in non-fiction, particularly narrative non-fiction, history, current events, and journalism as well as literary and young adult fiction. He has secured book contracts in other genres as well. Andy has served on the faculty of numerous writers conferences and has conducted workshops on writing non-fiction book proposals and working with a literary agent.

Andy is a member of the Association of Author Representatives (AAR).

Check out his website and blog:

Website: www.andyrossagency.com

Blog: "Ask the Agent" www.andyrossagency.wordpress.com

Writing for the Market

I just read a post from a Christian fiction writer who discussed learning from a conference to "write for herself first" and then "write for the market" because the market is so fickle and doesn't know what it wants and changes nearly every month. This is good advice.

If you write the books you love then someone will love them too, even if it is not something that the buying public shows interest in today. Trends come and go in publishing and what is popular today is not really relevant by the time the book is released a couple years later.

This is another reason I love working with small independent publishers. They do not follow trends, they publish what sells well for them, and they take on projects that speak to them as a reader. Good news for writers!

So, I have written a new YA fantasy, Loran Rudder and the Secret Key, and by the time this post goes live, will have sent it to my YA publisher, Moongypsy Press and even though this is my sixth full-length novel to go out, I am still on the wings of the glow of accomplishment. PS- Since writing this post and queuing it up, I received edits from Red Rose on Crooked Angel, the next Shannon Wallace mystery! Yay! I may have TWO books out soon. Life is good :) What have you done lately? Tell us!

Interview with author Stephen L. Brayton

© Stephen L. Brayton 2011 all rights reserved

Please tell us a little about yourself and your writing journey.

I spent most of my youth in the Quad Cities and in a southeast Iowa dot-on-the-map town. I’m not averse to the big metropolises but I prefer a small town atmosphere. Better school, longer lasting friendships.

Currently, I live in Oskaloosa, Iowa, another small town. I’ve an established taekwondo club where I’ve instructed for over eight years. I began training in martial arts in 1990 and earned my Fifth Degree Black Belt back in ’07.

I started writing as a youth and completed a novel length story while working for a radio station in Illinois. When I moved back to Iowa, and after starting martial arts, I wrote a 40,000 word story featuring Mallory Petersen, a private investigator, who also owned a taekwondo club in Des Moines. Later, the idea for Beta came to me and I dropped the original story in favor of this more exciting one. Plus, I was improving my craft, in part, by reading short stories to critique groups. While polishing up Beta I completed Night Shadows, a supernatural mystery also set in Des Moines. Both stories were accepted by Echelon Press in ’09. Night Shadows was published in February of this year with Beta released the first of October.

Who has been the greatest influence on you with respect to encouraging you to write and become a published author?

It may sound cliché, but I don’t care. My parents. I’d written a few short stories years ago and I’ll always remember Dad saying he and mom thought I should do something with writing. For many years, he’s talked about looking forward to my being famous for my books.

I also have to give a salute to Katherine Hinkson, a writer friend I met in my first critique group. We’ve supported and encouraged and pushed each other over the years to get something completed and submitted.

Please describe the greatest difficulty you have faced in your writing career, why it was difficult, and how you resolved it.

I think I’ve answered ‘getting published’ to this question at other times, and that is certainly true. I think however, I need to also bring up a challenge all writers face and that is ‘finding time to write.’ I’ve found myself very busy with taekwondo and book reviews and family activities. When I get a free moment, I think about writing, but part of me just wants to relax and do nothing. Go fishing, go explore the countryside, and do nothing. My regular overnight job is usually quiet, so I find time to write at work.

What prompted you to write Beta and what do you hope your readers will get from of it?

I had written a first Petersen mystery, I entitled Alpha. After reading a couple chapters, I knew I had some work to do on it. So, for awhile, I wrote short stories to present to the critique group while I learned from my mistakes.

I wish I had some awesomely cool anecdote to relate about the origins of Beta, but I don’t. However, I managed to insert the phrase ‘awesomely cool’ into an interview and I think that should count for something. What, I don’t know.

Actually, I have no idea what sparked the plot for Beta. Maybe I had an idea while writing the first story, already thinking series. Since I already had a character profile, some supporting characters, and the setting, things fell into place rather quickly.

I’m not sure what readers will get from this “I have no idea” answer, but sometimes you have to develop a character and make some mistakes in your writing before something clicks. If you have a strong enough character, he/she will survive the learning process.

Who or what influenced you in the development of this character?

I’m not ashamed or embarrassed to say Mallory Petersen is me…well, except for being female and a private investigator. However, she shares my likes and dislikes, possesses a witty sense of humor, and is what I aspire to be as a taekwondo student and instructor.

Many moons ago, the detective was named Sam P. Peterson who lived, as I did, in the Quad Cities. Sam showed up in a failed comic book venture, becoming a superhero. When I moved to Oskaloosa and started martial arts, I briefly considered resurrecting Sam, but thought it would be better to have a female investigator who could kick butt. Plus, there are many women in my organization I really wouldn’t want mad at me, so this story is partially a salute to them.

Please share with our readers a little about the plot, the characters, and the setting, of this novel.

Mallory Petersen is a Fourth Degree Black Belt and private investigator When not instructing her martial arts students she finds herself taking on cases and clients coming from the nuttier side of life. However, when she is hired to find kidnapped eight year old Cindy McGee, Mallory uncovers participants in the dark underworld of child pornography. She follows a trail leading her around the capital city of Des Moines, to south central Iowa, and onto the Quad Cities. With a handsome detective as her temporary partner, they continue the search. Mallory puts her emotions, her morals, and her life on the line her quest to save an innocent. The serious nature of the subject matter is tempered by humorous scenes showing off Mallory’s various talents and skills.

What impact would you say completing Beta has had on you personally and on your writing?

I knew I had written something worthy of publication. I just needed to convince a publisher it was good enough for them to take a chance on me. Even though I’ve read the story scores of times, I can still go back to certain parts, and feel the emotion of the scenes whether heartrending or humorous. If writers can do that with their own work, they’ve created something special. I seek those moments in all my projects.

Please give us some insight into your writing process. In other words, did you outline the novel chapters? Did you think about the plot for a while before writing it? What steps did you take before you wrote the first sentence?

Last year at a conference in Nashville, I had the pleasure of listening to Jeffrey Deaver speak about his writing process. The first thing he said was it was HIS process. He didn’t want to be the authority on how to write; he just discussed what worked for him. So, I’d like to point out to writers, this is what works for me, but it doesn’t mean I can’t improve it.

An idea comes to mind. I’ll mull it over for awhile, then write it down so I don’t forget it and can come back to later. If the idea won’t leave me alone, I’ll contemplate a possible plot, scribble some scenes, maybe a few characters I could include. If I think it’s viable, I’ll start with a rough outline, noting problem areas, places for research, and adding in more characters.

I may have to do some research before I start with the first sentence, but usually, I can begin right away. As I said, I do outline, but I’m not bound by it, because invariably, I’ll encounter various problems, see the story heading in another direction, or having to add or delete certain scenes. Once the first draft is completed, I’ll go back and start fixing problem areas, smoothing out narration and dialogue, and fill in gaps I’ve left where I needed to do some research. After the second draft, I start the process over again. Then again, and again…you get the point, right?

How much and/or what kind of research do you do prior to writing?

Normally, my outline will tell me where I need the research, usually in the form of visiting the locations I’ll use in the scenes. I want to look at the areas to get a feel for them, to have proper descriptions. Since Beta and Night Shadows are set in Des Moines, I spent hours driving to different businesses and locales. Of course, in the years since I wrote Beta, the landscape of downtown has changed dramatically, so some of the places I used in the story no longer exist. However, I couldn’t keep changing things every time some new construction project got underway.

I don’t like to create buildings and the like out of thin air. I’d much rather take an actual place, then change it to fit the scene. For instance, I use several real places in Beta, but I changed the names of the businesses because I didn’t want to imply the actual places had any involvement in the crimes I describe. Basically, I changed the names to protect not just the innocent, but me, too.

What do you find the most difficult part of writing in general and what do you do to overcome it?

I’ve advised other writers that if you are serious about writing and are serious about wanting to be published, you will find time to write. You will make time to write. You have to. Otherwise, you’re just wasting time. I’ve seen so many writers start a project and never get past chapter one. “Life gets in the way” is a valid excuse at times, but if you want to write, then it has to be a part of your life.

How do you balance your time to make time for writing?

Again, I have plenty of time at work to write so it’s a matter of just booting up the laptop or grabbing a pen and notepad and continue with whatever project I have in front of me. I have to plan for it. If I don’t write for a few days, I start feeling the urge, sort of like a withdrawal symptom. The urge tells me I need to get back to the story.

What are you working on now?

I resurrected Alpha, took the basic plot, added a sub-plot, a few more characters and scenes, and rewrote it from chapter one. I’m also working on completing the sequel to Night Shadows as well as a new private investigator mystery. In this one, tentatively entitled New Year Gone, I give a nod to the writing style of the Lew Archer mysteries. 

Any words of wisdom and advice to aspiring writers?

At the conference in Nashville, I attended a seminar where the panel discussed the future of publishing. It’s a fine seminar, and I hate to say it, but I could summarize the hour’s worth of talk in five words. After all the back and forth on what agents and publishers want, the future of eBooks, how physical books sales might be affected, and the rest of it, basically they were saying to every writer – “Do your best. Good luck.”

I can only add, “Have fun.” It if isn’t fun, don’t do it. If writing becomes just too frustrating and nonsensical and gives you headaches, then maybe you really shouldn’t write. You can’t force the words.

Have fun. Join critique groups, go to conferences, make contacts. During my years as a writer, I’ve met some wonderful people. I’ve picked up anecdotes to put into future stories. I’ve traveled to some great places and seen some, well, awesomely cool stuff. My research has taken me to places I never knew existed and shown me a few surprises. A different world exists for writers, so go discover it.

About the author

Stephen L. Brayton owns and operates Brayton’s Black Belt Academy in Oskaloosa , Iowa . He is a Fifth Degree Black Belt and certified instructor in The American Taekwondo Association. He began writing as a child; his first short story concerned a true incident about his reactions to discipline. During high school, he wrote for the school newspaper and was a photographer for the yearbook. For a Mass Media class, he wrote and edited a video project. In college, he began a personal journal for a writing class; said journal is ongoing. He was also a reporter for the college newspaper. During his early twenties, while working for a Kewanee, Illinois radio station, he wrote a fantasy based story and a trilogy for a comic book. He has written numerous short stories both horror and mystery. He has also written a paranormal mystery, entitled Night Shadows, sequels to Nights Shadows and Beta are in rewrite/revision stages.

 

www.stephenbrayton.com
http://stephenlbrayton.blogspot.com
http://braytonsbookbuzz.blogspot.com
SLB.

Chasing the Writing High

It's October. The Finger Lakes region has been beautiful lately, really gorgeous with its purple asters and bright yellow golden rod, deep blue skies and hints of red and orange colors streaking the hillsides.

I've been waiting for this moment forever. All year, really. I dubbed the year of 2011 "the year of endless edits," because that's all I've been doing since January.

It's not a bad thing, it's really part of a great trend with my publisher. She's decided she wants to release more of my backlogged books, rather than release just one or two a year. We have the first two Tall Pines Mysteries, books 2 and 3 in Moore Mysteries, a new LeGarde Mystery, and two "author's preferred edition" rewrites from the early LeGarde series, all of which are scheduled for release in the next six months, and all which required focused edits.

Compared to last year, 2011 really stunk. I mean, in 2010 I wrote three new books. I was on a constant writing high. Some prerequisite editing came in between (for FireSong, just released in July), but all in all, it was a very satisfying year for filling my aching need to create.

Last week I sent in the final edited manuscript for Upstaged. Done! Fertig! Fini! I was excited to start book three in my new Tall Pines series. Frankly, I was crazy with enthusiasm. After all, nothing gives me a thrill like writing fresh stuff. New stories. New twists. New characters. It's pure. It's fun. And I love it so much it can be scary.

To be honest, right up front, I need to tell you that I normally don't research my books very much.

There. I said it. As terrible as that is, it's true. I write from my experiences and also make up a lot of stuff. I know, I'll look bad by admitting this. But I can't pretend to be who I'm not.

This time, however, my new featured character comes from a Seneca reservation, where she's fleeing a monster who wants her dead. I don't know much about the reservation, except that my daughter and her husband used to go there for cigarettes when they used to smoke. To help with the background, I ordered four books from Amazon to teach me about the Senecas. Then I started to plan the book.

Big mistake! I never have more than a few loose ideas or themes ready to go when I start. The real planning, the real thinking, comes when I'm writing each chapter.

I started to panic. I couldn't make up my mind on characters, ages, plot elements. I drove myself crazy, woke up in the middle of the night worrying about it.

This is my sixteenth book. What was wrong with me? I started to wonder - what if I'm done? What if I never come up with another good idea again? Why can't I just plunge into this like I always do?

I've been doing this torturous "planning" all week, changing my mind a hundred times, talking to my writing pals about it, and going... nowhere.

This morning, I decided enough was enough! I've been craving writing for so long, wanting it so bad, that I was starting to get depressed. It was time to just start.

So I did. I let the first chapter out through my fingers onto the keyboard, and thus Catori was born, with all her problems throbbing in the foreground and with a nice clear picture appearing in my head. I don't really know where this story is going, except that I've got to help this poor girl escape her tormentor, bring her to the Adirondacks (Tall Pines cabin) to be safe, and figure out how to bring down the bad guys.

Hey, someone's gotta do it.

 I've gotta remember to write like the wind, and stop this over-thinking stuff. Right?

Think I'll go write chapter two.

***

Aaron Paul Lazar

Please visit my website or my page here on MB4!

	Double Forte': A Gus LeGarde Mystery	First Book in LeGarde Mysteries
	Upstaged: A Gus LeGarde Mystery	Book 2 in LeGarde Mysteries
	Tremolo: cry of the loon Publisher: Twilight Times Books	Book 3 in LeGarde Mysteries
	Mazurka (A Gus LeGarde Mystery)	Book 4 in LeGarde Mysteries
	FireSong	Book 5 in LeGarde Mysteries
	Healey's Cave	First Book in Moore Mysteries (Green Marble Mysteries)