I realized this week that I have more projects started than I planned. With The Found Gift published, I thought I could move on to completing the 10 flash fiction stories for MV2, get that out by the end of April, then continue with the first draft of The Syndicate. However, not one to balk when the muse serves up ideas, I started making notes.
I remembered that a colleague mentioned they did some illustrations… back when I first met them a year and a half ago. I reached out to them and asked about their art. A few emails later, I’m pleased to find an illustrator for my short story collection! I have two stories done, a third started and set aside. Because they will create sketches of the characters and/or setting, I needed to send them the story. I perused the first one and decided it needed a bit of editing. I did that and sent it off. Since I plan to include 12-15 short stories, and not all of them are written yet, I plan for this project to take a year.
While the next math workbook got a little attention, I created something for one of my students. It led to thinking about turning what I’d made for him into a book. So, I pulled together all the pieces, then made a list of what else to include. As of this list-making date, I have half the contents already done. I’ll include ways to use the material, so that will take a little more formatting. I think this can be published by the end of May.
While driving to the barn this morning, I thought of the main characters in The Syndicate. I have snippets of the storyline and came up with an obstacle that the two characters will need to overcome. There is also the plot thread of the motorcycle club, Corey’s hand, the relationship between Kyle and his son, solving the mystery of Tori’s family’s deaths, and the main conflict of closing down the syndicate. And as soon as I started thinking about what all has to happen to tie up the one big case, other scenes from other stories started showing up wondering when they’ll get their time. And that’s the billion-dollar question. I don’t take the muse’s offerings for granted. I try to get and stay organized, to make steady progress on my projects, to celebrate along the way, and to always be grateful for the opportunity to create and share with others. How do you approach your projects? Have you found an organizational system that works for you?
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