I love dreaming up characters and stories. Obviously. Inspiration lurks everywhere. But I wait until something speaks to me. Things come to me that demand to be written. Sometimes it's a scene, sometimes a character, sometimes a place ... then I have to figure out what to do with it. A snippet does not a story make.
Three of the seven short stories I started are now sitting waiting for critique and revisiting. It's a good idea to let a story sit for a week or so before reading it again. Makes what was missed or whatever more obvious. So, I've found. But they're well-polished and complete tales with beginnings, middles and ends.
Roughed out a fourth today based on the character who wrote the prologue for novel#1. So that makes, Exposed, Blue Moon, Under the Moon and untitled based on novel#1. I'm not thrilled with the Under the Moon title either, but it will do for now.
The three left are about Carol - a secretary in the future - unsure what it's really about, but Carol spoke to me wanting a story; The Principles of Coa Rown - science fantasy; and my synthetic biology piece set on Mars in the future - also untitled.
Titles are sometimes tough for me. Sometimes they pop out, most times they don't.
I want to do some major edits to an already existing story before it goes back out in the submission grist mill. Next week I plan on printing out novel#2 and reading it. September is coming. Time to get its spit and polish under way.
Will get to some research, too, for novel#3. I have the premise and the characters, just not sure what I'm going to do with the plot yet. Novel#4 is more concrete than #3 is. Maybe I should go with it next? Hmmm. It needs some research, too. I need to make up my mind.
Reaching for what you want takes a lot of guts. You put a lot on the line to stand on the firing line. It's heart pounding and nerve-wracking, leaving you feeling vulnerable and insecure. But, I know whatever happens, I'll still be standing and I'll still be writing. When you really want something, you do whatever it takes and you keep at it. You don't give up. Everyone pays their dues. I'm thrilled to be at the point where I'm paying them. Beginnings and endings make for easy celebrations. We ignore the middle. The middle is where everything happens though. So, celebrate the journey, especially the middle.
Reading Plantgirl tomorrow night. For more information see http://www.mpaxauthor.com/ and click 'Calandar' under 'News'. Or, visit http://centraloregonwriters.blogspot.com/
