Books are like my babies. I guide, mold and offer my input through the publication process, then release them into the world. And then I miss them. Their day to day development, the late nights, and even frustrations are...gone. So, I start again. (No, I am not having any more kids. Five is plenty. I'm talking about books.)
Funny thing is, unlike my children, I don't have complete control over the characters in my books. The main characters seem to take over while I write and I end up watching a seed of an idea grow from conception to full maturity. With some books, conception is a contest, others a request from a publisher to make a single title a series, but one is very different. Jewel of Ramstone, a medieval romance, was inspired by a nightmare...then developed into a wonderful dream.
Sometime ideas get tucked into a "work in progress" folder, just waiting for me to infuse life giving words to the snippets of conversation I wrote down, or incomplete thoughts. They end up unfinished because I either had to tend to edits on a contracted manuscript, or because life simply got in the way. Just the same, those seeds of a story haunt me. They bounce around my mind like a sugar infused child.
It's exhausting, yet fun to have so many stories wanting attention. Kind of like a full house of children. Though hectic, it's what life is all about to me. Balancing family and writing can be a challenge, but it's achievable because I'm determined to follow all of my goals...being a great mom, wife, grandma, friend and writer are just a few. Through the process of following my bliss, my characters move out of my mind and into the magical world of publication, my family cheers me on...and hopefully the readers love the world I created.
Jewel of Ramstone is just that. A rough, dark piece of coal that crept out of a nightmare...and became reality. This novel is truly my "baby."
Sometime ideas get tucked into a "work in progress" folder, just waiting for me to infuse life giving words to the snippets of conversation I wrote down, or incomplete thoughts. They end up unfinished because I either had to tend to edits on a contracted manuscript, or because life simply got in the way. Just the same, those seeds of a story haunt me. They bounce around my mind like a sugar infused child.
It's exhausting, yet fun to have so many stories wanting attention. Kind of like a full house of children. Though hectic, it's what life is all about to me. Balancing family and writing can be a challenge, but it's achievable because I'm determined to follow all of my goals...being a great mom, wife, grandma, friend and writer are just a few. Through the process of following my bliss, my characters move out of my mind and into the magical world of publication, my family cheers me on...and hopefully the readers love the world I created.
Jewel of Ramstone is just that. A rough, dark piece of coal that crept out of a nightmare...and became reality. This novel is truly my "baby."
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picture courtesy dreamstime.com
Umm... I have just one thing to say. YYOU HAVE COMPLETE CONTROL OVER YOUR CHILDREN????? lol
ReplyDeleteOkay, two things. I can relate to the hectic thing. I have a WIP folder, a FUTURE folder, an IDEA folder, a FOLDER folder, etc... lol I'm constantly thinking up characters, ideas, titles, lines, scenes, (the list goes on) for future stuff.
Cant wait for JOR to be released! (okay, three things--so I'm a blabber mouth.)
Dear sweet blabber mouth. I just have one thing to say:
ReplyDeleteI know I'm fooling myself when I say I have control over my kids...let me dream. :)
Okay two things...I want to know what's in your folder folder. :)
Three things: I copied you. I'm now a blabber mouth too. GRIN