Here I am, struggling to write the next book in the saga of Edward and Marianne, when I keep getting these seemingly great ideas for other novels. Do I stick with what I’m working on or do I follow the muse? Is the muse for real, or just another form of work avoidance? What if I follow the new idea only to a] find that it wasn’t developable (at least at this time) or 2] once away I can’t come back to the story I really want to write?
At this point, these two new ideas look really good and really promising. But I never know for sure until I get down into the “hard writing” process: actually typing out words and trying to bring things to conclusions and all that jazz. And it’s not the same with every book. “The Woman Caught” practically wrote itself. “The Return of the Nice Guy”, though, took me twenty years of fitful starts before “magically clicking overnight”.
Some stories I have to toss around in my mind and ruminate on for a while before I can even begin to put things down. These, though, I want to start typing write (ha!) away. But I also want to stay in my Edward & Marianne frame of mind. And let’s not forget that I have a life to live and a job to do and a family I’d really rather spend time with than write, anyway.
Any suggestions?
What’s up, I read your blogs on a regular basis. Your story-telling style is witty, keep doing what you’re doing!