WIPs and Chains

Another week of very little writing. I have to get over the idea that if I'm not actually writing, I'm not accomplishing anything. There's so much more to this "writing thing" than I anticipated when I started out.

Last week there was promo - with my Nine Naughty Novelists and with another group of authors at the Samhain Cafe, which meant about four hours of on-line promo work. That's important, right? But no actual writing got done that day!

I also did a lot of research. I've mentioned before my "Ponzi" story and how I intended it to be part of a series of stories. When I started work on it many months ago, I felt overwhelmed by trying to plan out a whole series and I let go of the "series" part of it and just focused on the Ponzi story. Which has progressed, though I got stuck, left it, went back to it, left it again. A few weeks ago the library books I'd been waiting for to use as research came available, and that got me started again. And then somewhere out of the blue, the idea for the overall plot that would connect the series came to me! And I got deeper and deeper into more on-line research.

I have to say here - I love research. When I was in university, I loved doing research for papers, reading, making notes, learning. And research is even more fun for a book because it's research into things that interest me. I can see the danger of getting too involved in research and never writing!

I still haven't figured everything out - but I also know that I don't have to have every little thing figured out to be able to start writing, because ideas come to me as I write and often the characters figure things out for me.

Yesterday I finally got back to the story. Started at the beginning, using some of the new information I have, to change some details here and there. I added a scene that I now know has to be there, to set up what happens later. And I think I'm ready to move forward with this story. Because even though I now have the series figured out, I still have to write that first story!