The first draft of my second Marshall Mystery - "A Horse Named Morbid" is coming along nicely. The first act is down and, despite lots of planning, the story is now telling itself.
This for me is the most important part of writing. For me, writers block is not something that stops me writing, it is something that stops me writing automatically. I can force myself, develop my characters, come up with different portions of the story to write until I get the bit of inspiration I need to move on, but it is not until the flow begins to happen that I am truly happy.
Sometimes this takes a little time. I find that I need to develop a thoroughly deep understanding of the people, places and plot and then the story writes itself. I know the characters and how they will react based on their surroundings, and I know which of those reactions will send the story in the direction I want it to go. All the while my mind wanders to the over-riding, cross-novel, larger story arc....
And frankly I am excited! Seeds have already been sown in the first story and they are starting to really sprout in the second. To continue this horticultural metaphor, the plan is for them to blossom in the third and by the fourth....
...it's time to harvest!
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