Living the Life of an Artist

Yesterday I went back to working on my novel. I’d not written in a couple months, but it did not take me long to get involved. As a matter of fact, the story consumed me all day, so much so that when Ma’s visiting nurse was leaving, I was all mixed up which day of the week it was.

Then this morning, it starts in again. I keep thinking of things to add. I jot down notes as I am trying to get other things done. When I was in the shower, a whole big scenario worked itself out and I was excited, but the minute I got dried off, that whole scene was gone. (The Muse teasing me.) Still, though, other scenes, dialogue, and ideas are rolling off my mind like clouds going by on a windy day. I cannot possibly record it all.

This happens to me, this total involvement in the story. It’s like it takes me over and I can’t stop thinking about it. One of the problems is that it jumps around quickly. A scenario will be running in my head and then logic kicks in to realize that for this to happen something in a previous chapter would have to change to lead up to this moment. Another problem is that in my mind everything moves so fast that there’s no way I can capture it on paper or typing. I have to rein the mind in and that slows some of the creativity.

I am disappointed that my descriptions are lacking. I have no trouble with action and dialogue, but describing people and being able to talk about their clothes are a real issue. I want to talk about this with other writers... the writing process….

I am sooo excited about this story! BUT… and I am ashamed to say… the main character was a minor character in someone else’s story and the world these people live in are from that other author’s fantasy series. I have added new characters and other stories. I don’t feel I have it in me to create new worlds but I absolutely can get into creating new characters and new storylines. Who knows, maybe I can eventually sell this story to that other author.