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I have a terrific list of plot ideas I’ve maintained over the last couple of years. Every time I read something weird or interesting, I add it to my ‘Plot Ideas’ file. Going back over that list, I’m tickled by some of the ideas, but not as much as I’d hoped. I even found a couple of ideas I’d sketched out – a few scenes and characters, but nothing that’s really grabbing me. Both were off-world stories; they have possibility, but aren’t the kind of story I want to write at this time. You see, I want to write Urban Fantasy, since that’s what I enjoy reading. Might as well write what I love.
So I went back to the process I used to start the idea for FATE. Originally, THAT story had an AWFUL opening (the protagonist comes home to find her pet had been dismembered by a roommate wielding a vacuum), unsympathetic characters, and no direction. I wrote 170 pages of THAT story before I figured out what I was doing and started over from scratch (the ONLY thing that stayed the same was the town and some of the secondary character characterizations). If I can turn that disaster into something I liked as much as FATE, surely I can do the same with the next WIP.
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So that’s what I’m doing. I’m keeping the little grey cells open for inspiration, and reading some (new to me) authors in both Urban Fantasy and Fantasy to see where I need to go for my next story. I’ve also got a couple of short stories that need polishing, and I want to get those cleaned up and put to work. Last week, I felt a little down and aimless, since I wasn’t exactly writing, per se. This week, I’m calling it RESEARCH!
what about the sequel to FATE? Or you energized for a whole other story line?
Either way, I always read a bunch during those “in-between” or “Pondering” phases. I feel like it keeps me in the writing sphere while letting my brain ride the carpet of someone’s else’s imagination (like a day spa for the writer’s brain). Then I’m recharged to work on my own stuff ;-).