Yup.....for the past week or so, I've been in my "thinking" mode.  What's that, you ask?  Thinking about world events?  Politics?  My upcoming trip to Paris in October?  No....not that kind of thinking.

Preparation thinking.  Thinking about the new writing project I'm working on.  I'm also superstitious about it, so I seldom share very much at this stage.  But I will say except for the actual writing, this is the part of the process that I really enjoy.  And heck, it gives me the perfect excuse when I'm sitting there, just staring blankly into space and hear Ray say, "What are you doing?"  I can say, "I'm working." 

On this subject.....the "thinking" part of writing is as important, if not more so, than the actual act of putting thoughts to paper.  And it's something, for us writers, that starts as a child.  I've been at book signings and heard readers tell me that as a child they were admonished for sitting around reading all day or for just sitting and staring into space.  If they had a book in hand, they were told to "get outside.  DO something.  Don't sit there all day and do NOTHING."  I've always felt that's very sad.  They ARE doing something.  They're expanding their minds.  They're allowing their imaginations to run free.  They're escaping into worlds they might otherwise never visit. 

I was an only child and I think my mother knew that those of us with no siblings around are more prone to visit a fantasy world.  Either with our reading or with our thinking.  So I'm grateful I was never told to "put that book away" or "stop sitting there dreaming."

And this is what I do now each time I begin a new writing project.  If you're a writer, you'll know we all write very differently.  I don't mean just the words.....but the process of writing.  Some writers have a very structured outline and follow it to the "t" when working on a novel.  Others have no clue at all where they're going, but somehow, they end up there.  There is NO right or wrong in this process.  It's whatever "feels" right for you.  I had a brand new writer ask me this question just recently at the conference in Dallas and that's what I told her.......don't listen to the people that tell you you must do it THIS way.  There is NO right way. 

So although I won't share all the details with you, here's my way.......For me, first and foremost "I" have to come up with a setting.  Yup.....even before I know my character or my plot.  Don't ask me why....I don't know why.  Just do. (In Seeking Sydney, it was Cedar Key) Next comes my main character and at the same time that she comes to me, I have a general idea what her "problem" conflict is.  What her goals are, what she needs/wants to change about herself.  I know the main "message" I want to send to my reader.  In a nutshell, with Seeking Sydney, it's "love has many different facets."

Then I spend a lot of time on my main character's cast.....the secondary, but very important other characters.  Then I also spend a lot of time on their names.  Their name has to "fit" them.  Many times for reasons only known to me.  Next comes their bio.....Yup, I write out a bio for each character.  What's their background?  Their age?  Their physical attributes?  What's their strong traits and their weak traits?  By the time I finish with this......I know them as well as friends I've had for years.  And the best part....any and all of this, I can create from my own mind.  Characters can be a composite of people I know and met.  Plots can be based on a news story, a real story somebody told me, or just my own muse kicking in and directing me.

Then I spend a lot of time on plot.....not chapter by chapter.  Just in general.  What do I need to tell my reader and when.  And the ending?  No, I don't know.  Some writers do know from the minute they sit down to begin.  And that's fine....because again, there's no right or wrong.  But for me.....it's always a surprise.  The best way to describe my style of writing is......I have a map.  I'm taking a journey.  I have a pretty good idea where I want to go, but......I take lots of detours along the way.  Therefore, I have NO idea HOW I'll actually get there.

So this is what I've been spending a lot of my time on recently and why you're not seeing me here quite as often.  My "thinking" mode has kicked in and I'm on a roll.  Writing it all down in a notebook.  And......I will share just a few of the things I've created.

This time.....my novel will take place in my beloved Paris. (And yes, I'll be doing lots of research when I return there in October) My main character.....her name is Brie (yup, like my dog) But I named her after cheese because my novel will have a humorous slant to it.  She's late 40's in age.....brought up in North Central Florida.  Father was French, mother was American.  She has a French grandmother that lives in Paris.  I'm getting my secondary characters and plot in place.  Like all my novels, it will be geared toward women in the baby boomer age group, and yes, there'll be a romance and plenty of passion.  Hey......it's Paris, remember?  The most romantic city in the world.  My title?  That's something that I always come up with first, right along with the setting.  I have a working title right now, but it could change.  Therefore, I won't be sharing that for awhile.  And obviously......I'm also not sharing my plot on here.  Not that I'm superstitious or anything  

Back to the drawing board for me......make that pen and notebook.

And I'll see you here next time.......