When The Puzzle Pieces Fall Together

So, as most of you already know, I'm in mid-first draft of "The Awakening," and for the past, oh week or so, the flood gates have opened up and Venom is flowing onto the page like water. I don't know how it works for you other writers, but I get bits and pieces of scenes, dialog, names, places etc. and then I'm supposed to make some sort of sense out it.

I've been plodding along on this project, writing a bit here and a bit there, making no great strides to speak of, but writing enough to keep the juices flowing. Scratching my head as I put scenes together, not really understanding WHY I'm supposed to put this one next to that one, but I do it because that's what my instincts tell me to do.

Then WHAM!

I get this new character (or in this case a special GROUP that is a character) and suddenly as I discover who they are and what they do, all the strange bits and pieces I linked together up until this point make perfect sense. These guys are the key to the story, the link that threads throughout the storyline.

I am once again amazed, not at myself, but at how the subconscious mind always seems to be way ahead of the game and knows what it is doing. I refer to this alter-ego as my Muse, and so far she (or possible he) has been spot-on.

So I am a writing fool these days, making like a Ghost at my usual haunts and at The Keep. I really hope they don't think I'm ignoring them, cause I'm not. It's just that Venom and The Muse are such demanding taskmasters at the moment.

On another note, it seems that my publisher, BookSurge, is merging into Create/Space, and the new company seems to have more reasonable rates and pricing for their books. This is a great relief as I am most annoyed at the pricing they placed on "The Sagittary," causing those who would normally buy, to back off. And that really sucks. I am looking into revising "The Sagittary" into a shorter version, taking out a lot of the book that, while not intrinsic to the story, definitely fills it out and gives it a 'real flavor.' I hate to do that, but I have to in order to make the pricing more palatable. If I do this, I would probably post those 'deleted scenes' up in The Keep. So I'll keep you posted on how that goes. But in the meantime, I'm watching my page count this time around so "The Awakening" will be as cheap as I can make it without sacrificing the meat of the story.

As usual, I've been posting 'teasers' at The Keep. So if you want to get a little taste of Venom and see what he's about, head on over.

That's it for now...back to the keys. Read happy!

TMS

Welcome into the Mysts....

*takes a deep breath*

*lets it out slowly*

*considers the blank parchment upon the table*

*ponders where to start *

*bites tip of quill*

*puts quill back into inkpot*

*wanders off into the mysts to think*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A beginning is never easy for it sets the tone for what will follow. I have never, other than in my regular schooling, have taken a writing class. I am told that I have a natural ability to relate a story. Descriptive, funny, animated. At any one time, I have some sort of scenario going through my mind. At one point, I had to start putting it down on paper...it just felt right. That original story is still unfinished and I feel terrible about it. My characters are frozen in time, unable to continue until I deem it ready to do so. Because in the world of books, the writer is god. We have the power to create, the power to direct, the power to kill. So until I am ready, frozen in time they will stay.

But it is not from lack of wanting to finish that original story. It is because my muse has been whispering to me...giving me ideas that I can't ignore. If I do, she will stop speaking to me. And where would that leave me? I get scenes, flashes of dialog, glimpses of actions. My characters do not speak to me, but rather show me. How many times have I been at work to have a wonderful line of dialog suddenly show up in the middle of reading contracts? How many times has a delicious love scene shown up during computer upgrades? I grab for the nearest sticky pad and jot down notes furiously. These make their way home to a folder where they are cataloged into some sort of order. Eventually they form a story.

I don't seek to become the next J.K. Rowling but only to have my stories read by others who enjoy the same types of tales that I can tell. So far, according to friends, family and co-workers, I'm doing well. One day I will get that story finished. And one day, I will see it in print. Until then, I will continue to listen to the whispers of my muse and continue setting them down to paper. Because only in written form will they come to life. TMS