Last week I finished The Hidden Gift and sent it to my beta reader. I also emailed information to my cover designer. I commented to a friend of mine, “This short story became a novella, and I’m okay with that. Now I think it has morphed into a series.” She replied, “When are you going to finish your other series?” I shrugged. “I’ll work on some this year, the rest later on.”
I’m thinking my content creation is a lot like my meditation practice. I know the premise of meditation, like I understand the mechanics of writing. I have several tools in my toolbox for settling my body/mind in order to meditate. My mind drifts to thoughts, I bring it back to my breath or a mantra. It wonders away again, and again I bring it back. I have great concentration when it comes to completing a task when my focus is outside myself. This is one reason why meditation is called a practice. My writing is the same. I know my process. I intend to write a specific thing, but the muse runs off with my project like a puppy with a stick. My practice is to wrangle the story and characters back to a particular length. I’m not helpless in what I allow the muse to do or how my short story morphs into something I didn’t plan. Like I bring my attention back to my breath, I bring the story to a close. How I choose to do so is up to me.
Currently, I have two projects I’m working on. The first is My Voice: Volume 2. I’m including some essays I wrote a long time ago and some story starters that I’ll finish into flash fiction/short story length. It will be another free offer on my website. The second project is book 2 in the Waldman Investigations, The Bookie. I’m only 2500 words in, but the backstory for the heroine is down, and the reader knows a little about the villain. While driving home from the barn this morning, I wondered, what else is going to happen in this short novel? And wouldn’t you know? My imagination answered! The heroine is introduced to the hero when she brings in one of his informants. And how do they get more information on the bookie? They visit the stalker from book 1 in prison. I also know how the sister of the hero, who will be the heroine in book 3, gets more time than the one sentence she got in book 1.
I’m pleased that Kobo awarded me a spot in one of their promos last week! 181 people downloaded Everything to Gain, An Asset, Inc. Novel. Creative Play: A Guide for the Artistic Path is also part of a month-long promotion for “New Year Inspiration.” The Stalker, Waldman Investigations Book 1 is in Kindle Unlimited only until February 13, then it will be available on all platforms. So if you’re a KU subscriber, you may want to take a peek. Here’s hoping 2022 is a positive space for you 🙂
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