Friday!

I wonder how many writers are good at taking weekends off. Right now, I'm building proposals--pages of story and a synopsis to explain the rest of the book. (And I'm enjoying it so much I know I won't be able to resist coming back over the weekend.)

The way it works for me--I start the story with a scene that has generally popped into my head--or with a beginning that looks like taking me to that scene. Then, after a few pages--this time, 7--I feel the need to flesh out the story. So I start the synopsis--lovingly called a snopes around my laptop--after that handsome Faulkner family. (Who can love writing a snopes?)

I start with characters and a few plot points, and then I realize what I've left out and why something needs emotional motivation--and that I've got a hole that only time and writing the book will fill. Eventually, I mail the whole mess to my editor, who reads it all with much clearer vision than I, and she suggests ways to fix my problems, as well as pointing out the stuff I've left in that I don't need.

Then comes the hard part--writing the book!

Gotta go. I'm working from a coffee shop again, and my girl just drove up! This is a "best" day--the writing's flowing and my daughter's come home from school!

I hope the new year is treating everyone kindly!