May the Muse Be With You

It’s time to start working on the next book in the Yarn Retreat series, but first I wanted to finish a proposal for a possible other series. Only I was stuck. I know who all the characters are and the plot of the first book, so writing three chapters and a synopsis shouldn’t have been a problem.

But every time I sat down to work on it, a few words would come out and then it was like I reached a dead end street. The more I tried and didn’t get anywhere, the more the panic set in. I over thought everything and finally came to a grinding halt.

I did the only thing I could do. I stepped away from the computer, watched some funny TV shows and spent some time working with yarn.

And then as if by magic, this morning it all started to come together. I stuck to handwriting it all down and the words seemed to tumble off my pen. Suddenly I knew what Annie Sara Hart’s back story was and why the ghost showed up. Clues and resolutions came out of nowhere. Time melted and hours flew by. It was noon and I was still in my nightgown, but I had the whole thing worked out. What I ended up with still needs work. But I have something to work with now.

For me at least, gritting my teeth and trying to force the words out never works. I have to let go and let it happen. I know somehow all the things I’d been reading, and all the flying over the area where the story takes place via Google Maps must have been percolating somewhere while I was laughing at The Middle and Modern Family.

The hard part was trusting that it would happen. Now if I can just read my handwriting.