There’s something so exciting about beginning work on a new project. A new story always starts with a grain of an idea. It could be a character, like… a hardened warrior sitting in a tavern drinking mead. Or it could be a premise, like… what if a woman traveled through a time portal and ended up inhabiting the body of an ancient Egyptian queen?

Whatever spurs the concept, at this stage, there are no limitations placed on what this book could become. The story has the potential to become anything at all. All this freedom is a double-edged sword, though. On one hand, there is so much potential, it’s easy to get excited about the inevitable brainstorming exercises and creative tasks that go along with starting a new story. On the other hand, this is about the same time that the first niggling of doubt starts to set in.

“Can I pull this off?”

“But I don’t know anything about giant lizards / Peru / the way to kill someone using chlorinated water and a plastic spork.”

“What makes me think I can write, anyway?”

When I hit the last question, I know I need to take a deep breath and a step back. Because this is the fun part of the process. It’s pure play. Self doubt has no place here.

Nor is self doubt welcome when I finally start writing the first draft. Or when I edit. Or when I send the book into the world. Can I banish it altogether? No. If I could, I’d probably write and submit a whole lot more. But I can take it one day at a time, one story idea at a time… and see what happens.

(image by Pixeldiva)

It’s been a good week. Work is busy but not overwhelming, and things at home are wonderful. We’re all settled in to our new house and really enjoying it. We quickly developed a routine, too. Although I have a gorgeous office, I spend most of my time in hubby’s office, curled up in a corner of the leather couch, with a blanket, the cat, and my laptop. I get lots of writing done while he works, and we still get to hang out together.

So, on the writing front… I started a new project last weekend, tentatively titled RISE AND FALL. Originally, I thought I’d write something for EC’s “Dance of Desire” call for submissions, but I’m not sure that’s really what I’m writing. I’m developing the project organically, and at this point I couldn’t tell you if it’ll end up being 15,000 words or 50,000 words, super spicy or mild. I’m letting the characters tell the story and take me wherever they will. As my good friend Isabella Jordan says, I’m “writing fearlessly” — and absolutely loving it.

I guess I’m rediscovering the joy in writing for the sake of writing. Not writing to a deadline, or to a call, or to someone else’s idea of what I should be writing. I’m not worried about where I’ll sell the story, or when I’ll have a new release out. I’m just writing.

I plan on setting the draft aside for at least a month when I’m done, because I’d like to come back to it and edit with fresh eyes. That’s something else I’ve always wanted to do but never had the time to when writing to a deadline.

I’m averaging between 1000 and 1400 words about 6 nights a week, and I’m amazed how quickly that all adds up. 1000 words never felt like much to me before (especially since I used to write 3-4k a night in my most productive days — but even then, I only wrote about twice a week, so I ended up with the same number of words I’m getting now).

My goal is 250 words, 5 nights a week. I’m not pressuring myself to produce, but I always end up with more. And with the 250 word goal, I don’t feel overwhelmed, and I never think, “Oh, I don’t have time to write tonight.” 250 words takes me about 15 minutes. I’ve ALWAYS got 15 minutes. If I stop there, great. If not, even better.

So… yeah. A good week.

I don’t have a writing mentor in real life. No professors, or experienced writers who have taken me under their wings. And yet, I do have a mentor. She just doesn’t know it.

Holly Lisle, for those of you who aren’t familiar with her, writes fabulous fantasy and sci/fi novels, and she’s taken forays into paranormal romantic suspense and young adult fiction. She also writes books on writing, for authors who want to make a living at this. She pulls no punches, but what I admire most about her is the dedication she has to helping other authors improve their craft, and their marketability.

Anyway, all this background is just to say that Holly does a fabulous job of leisurely chatting about what she’s working on, and how her writing went on any particular night. At the risk of boring you all, I’d like to do the same. It will help my thoughts gel, and it’s a nice way to get closure after a day’s work.

So, having said all that… I started a new project today. I’m in the early stages, still discovering my characters, my plot, and my world, but I’m having a lot of fun with it. I surprised myself tonight when my 2-hour brainstorming session resulted in some rather unexpected revelations that will make for a much richer, more conflict-driven book. I’m extremely excited to write, but I have more planning work before I’ll feel comfortable putting words on paper.

While you’re surfing the net, you may want to read…

• Stop Saying “Someday” to Your Writing (somedaysyndrome.com)
• Alice Hoffman Is Ready to Rumble (mediabistro.com)
• ISBW Special #43 - Holly Lisle Interview (murverse.com)

As writers, we all have favorite words. We’ve got words we fall back on out of sheer laziness, words we adore but fear no one else will understand, words that turn us on.

We don’t often think about them — they’re just there, ready for the taking as we write our stories.

So if someone asked you to list the one hundred most beautiful words in the English language, could you do it? Dr. Goodword (Robert Beard) could. He’s been writing dictionaries, creating word lists, and writing poetry for 40 years, so I suppose he’s qualified to make that kind of sweeping statement.

He lists the words in alphabetical order, not in order of beauty, so he leaves the judgment call of which word should be #1 to us.

The complete list is here: http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/100_most_beautiful_words.html. What do you think? Did your favorite word make the Top 100?

Flickr image by powerbooktrance.

We’re only a little over a month into 2009, but already my best laid writing plans have been turned upside down. The day job has been extremely chaotic, demanding and stressful, so my writing has taken a backseat to all the tension and anxiety.

Despite all that, I’m determined to get my writing back on track. I’ve been floundering since returning from Mexico, and I finally realized that, on top of all the work stress, I’ve been moving away from the kind of writing that really calls to me.

I made that critical mistake all authors are warned not to make: I started thinking I should chase the market, or try to do what everyone else has been doing. In the meantime, I forgot what made writing so much fun for me in the first place. So a few days ago, I let my muse run free. I grabbed a notebook, went to a coffee shop and wrote. By the time I was done, I had characters I already cared about (even though I didn’t know much about them), and a scenario that really intrigued me.

So now I’m commited to developing this spark of an idea into a new book. It’s time I make writing a priority again–and the only way I’ll do that is by following my muse… wherever she may lead me.

Image via WikipediaI never read anything without a pen and paper by my side. And since I just finished devouring the February 2009 issue of Writer’s Digest, I thought I’d share the quotes I jotted down as I read.

Each one of these apply, in some way, to where I am at this point in my writing career. Although the magazine now sits in the recycling bin, these quotes will continue to live on–in loopy, colorful script–in my journal:

“My advice for beginning writers is to pee in dangerous places, always. Then give your characters that feeling of imminent danger.”

- George Singleton

“The first draft of anything is shit.”

- Earnest Hemmingway

“After I’ve got a chapter or two roughed out, I go from my handwritten pages to my PC, where I edit and rewrite as I go, adding new text and omitting what–I can now clearly see–doesn’t work.”

- Elizabeth Sims

“I have a very long pre-writing process where I’m jotting down ideas in a notebook, and ripping out relevant newspaper articles–a long fact-finding mission… It’s like a heightened awareness. I’m now attuned to everything on this particular topic.”

- Megan McCafferty

“Once you’ve found a strong central desire within your hero, your plot decisions boil down to forcing him into the danger of his own feelings. All else becomes secondary.”

- Steve Almond

“Remember that you’re an artist, not a deal maker. Interestingly, the work I’ve done for money hasn’t been great, but what I’ve written for love was most successful.”

- Susan Shapiro