Is there any better feeling than when an idea for a new book hits and you know—without a shadow of a doubt—that it’s going to be great?
I’m in that place right now. 5,000+ words into a new novel that has me feeling all the feels. I love the concept and the characters; the plot and the places. I love it so much I’m talking in rhyme.
Normally, when inspiration hits me like this, I jump straight into the drafting stage without any prep. It’s only after “barfing” out the first few chapters, that I realize I probably need to take a step back and think everything through before I write something book shaped that makes no damn sense.
But this time I didn’t do that.
This time, dear friends, I spent more than a week (gasp!) working on a detailed outline, chapter summaries and even (double gasp!) character profiles.
I wasn’t sure I was cut out for the plotter life but, so far at least, I’m not hating it.
Trying a new process for what will be my sixth novel has shown me that there is no “right” way to write a book. There is only what feels right at the time. Maybe this is how I will write every book from now on. Or maybe I’ll go back to my old ways of drafting once and revising 47 times. Who knows!?
For now, I’m going to enjoy this new book feeling while it lasts because talk to me again around the 37% mark and I’ll probably feel differently. 😳
