Was This Really a Good Idea?

You know how sometimes, you want more than you can handle?  More than you need?  And you fuss over it and think you can have it all…and you should know better?  Well, I might have done that.

I love writing Jazzi mysteries for Lyrical Press.  And I love writing Muddy River to put up myself, because I have fun writing them.  And that in itself should have pleased me.  Except then, I thought of a straight mystery idea, and I really wanted to write that, too.  So I am.

When I work on Jazzi, it’s the only thing I concentrate on.  I put all of my energy into one book.  But I just sent in my 5th manuscript, and I didn’t have that many revisions, so I finished them, too.  And now, I have a little play time before I need to start the next one.

So I decided to try my hand at something completely different–the straight mystery.  And it’s a challenge, but I like it.  The problem is, I’d already plotted the entire next Muddy River, and that story just kept pestering me.  It wanted written.  So did Old Friends, New Habits.  So I came up with an idea.  For right now, and maybe never again, I start my day by writing a chapter of Muddy River.  I’ve thought and thought about this book, so it’s just getting the words down.  And the story excites me as much as I thought it would.  When it’s lunch time, I put Muddy River away for the day.

HH and I always take our time over lunch, catching up with each other and yakking about anything and everything.  And that clears my mind so that by the time I get back to my computer, I’m ready to start work on a new chapter for the straight mystery.  I shared a chapter of it with you earlier.  I have it all plotted out, too.  (I can’t write without a plot.  For me, it’s like driving across country without a map.  Who knows what route I’d take and where I’d end up).

I’ve been doing this for two weeks now, and so far, I like it.  I don’t think I could do it for long periods of time, but I only plan on trying it between Jazzi books.  Both of the fun books will be shorter than Jazzi’s, so they’ll go faster.  I have no idea if I’ll get them both done at the same time, but I might.  I’m not even certain what I intend to do with Old Friends, New Habits.  But for now, I’ve been writing like a mad woman and enjoying myself quite a bit.  (Don’t look at the dust in my house, though).

I’m hoping that by January 1st, I’ll be ready to start pounding away on The Body in the Beauty Shop (another working title).  House cleaning and decorating for the holidays has to wait for the weekends to get done.  But in January, things slow down, the weather gets cold, and I hibernate.  The perfect time to hunker down to serious work.

Hope words are piling up for you, too, especially if you’re participating in NaNo.  And if you’re not hitting the keys at the moment, hope you’re doing something else fun.  For the rest of us, Happy Writing!