Back at work, phew! Sometimes the holidays wear me out. I have it easy for the most part. We don’t travel beyond our home for Christmas and New Years. We live more than a few hours away from our relatives, which makes Christmas and New Years luncheons hard to do. I prefer to see them one on one, but secretly miss the fun of a full house with children running around, dogs barking, toes stepped on, family arguments started… You know, tradition!
I’m working on the start of a Haunted novel or novella. I don’t really know until I have ten thousand words whether or not it’s a keeper. Forty thousand will tell me if it’s a novella. I admire writers who can plan these things. I’m at the mercy of my muse, which hasn’t failed me so far, knock on wood.
Working in the winter brings me upstairs from my basement office. I get up before the birds and start working. When the other Bliss Cottage denizens awake, I put on headphones so their conversations don’t distract me. I sip my coffee and think of where I last left my characters, run various what ifs through my mind, and then I start writing. Working upstairs has its problems, but there are benefits like being closer to the coffee pot and the bathroom!
I remember reading about a few of our celebrated authors and where they wrote in the early days. One wrote in the hallway to the laundry room, and another in a graveyard, because it was quiet and away from his family. I think I would draw the line there (shivers).
I get my best ideas in the shower. For Christmas, my editor gave me a waterproof pad of paper and pencil to hang in the shower. I’ll give it a try. Perhaps it will come in handy. Instead of me traipsing through the house in a towel to get to the laptop, I’ll just jot down the idea. I worry though that the hubby will start an Alexie do list on the pad while he’s using the shower. Knowing me, I’ll counter with profanity… Hey, this could be fun!
The Red Pen is working. She started on News Years day, and I’ve received over 150 pages of corrections to input. It’s a long novel, folks. So far she says it moves fast and she likes it! We hope to get it to you the first week of February. In the meanwhile, novel 19 or novella 18.1 is waiting for me to continue. I’ll keep you posted.