Monday, April 23, 2018

Square One


Sometimes I feel as though I’m always at square one.  I am always starting over.  This is a problem with writing books.  I don’t get a lot of time to enjoy a finished project because I’m too busy starting another one.  There’s always another book to write.

My next book is almost done.  This will be the third book in my children’s fantasy series.  It’s going to be called Brelin and Wisherton and will release near the end of May.  Almost done means the book is getting some final proofreading.  This is the stage where I get help, which means I’m not actively working on the book.  I have to work on something so I’m planning out what’s next.

What is next?

I’m glad you asked.  I’m planning to do another series.  These books will be set in another fictional small town, more like Hartford than Thompsonville.  Yes, they will be love stories.  Yes, I’m having trouble naming the characters.  No, I don’t have any ideas on a title either.  This all feels very familiar.

I’ve been at square one before.  I’ve been at square one many times before.  The cycle keeps repeating.  When that Wisherton book releases, I’ll be looking at a few scribbled pages and a ton of work.  This won’t give me much time for celebrating the previous accomplishment.  It sounds kind of demoralizing, doesn’t it?

It’s not.  There are certainly times when having to start over is no fun, but writing a new book is not one of them.  Square one lets me entertain ideas too ridiculous to actually use.  Nothing has to make sense until I start making decisions.  I get to daydream until I’m picturing what will eventually become my favorite scenes in the book.  I like square one.  I may have a whole lot of work in front of me, but I haven’t started it yet.