Friday, September 26, 2014

Starting Again

I did it. I sent off WOUND UP IN MURDER Sunday night. But that was after spending 12 hours at my computer on Friday and another six hours on Sunday. I baked one of the recipes on Friday night and worked on the worry doll pattern.

As always when I got to the end, I felt a little sad saying good bye to the characters, but I’ll see them again when I get the edits. I am still working on the pattern for the worry doll, so when the edits come back will update it.

There was a relief at finishing. There was that moment when I wondered if I would ever get there. But then the next day I was already thinking ahead. I mapped out the basic idea for the next Yarn Retreat book even though I won’t be working on it until I write the next Crochet book.

I have had the basic idea for the next Crochet Mystery floating around in my mind, but now I need to get specific. I know it is going to start out with the group meeting at CeeCee Collins house and that they are going to find a body in her guest apartment over her garage. The problem was they didn’t know who she was or how she got there and neither did I.

I think I have that part worked out now. Then I come up with each of the character’s arc in the book. That’s kind of fun. It’s sort of seeing what they’ve been up to since the last book.

The hard part is writing the beginning. Since each book should stand on its own, I have a lot of explaining to do. Writing all the back story stuff so it’s interesting and doesn’t read like what it is, an information dump, isn’t easy. And it ‘s a balancing act too. How to explain, but not over explain.

It is hard to believe I am starting on writing the tenth Crochet Mystery. It seems like yesterday that this was all still a dream.


10 comments:

Leigh Russell said...

Great post. Like you I'm on my tenth book. I'm writing two crime series, one a spin off from the other, which makes life even more complicated! I'll check out your first book.

Linda O. Johnston said...

Congrats on sending WOUND UP IN MURDER, Betty. But I love, and identify with, how your mind is already hard at work on what comes next!

LuAnn @ BackPorchervations said...

Wow...I don't know how you keep it all straight. Different books, characters, series, genres. Rock on! :O)

Planner said...

Your tenth book in the Crochet Mystery series already! That's quite a milestone!

You do a great job with the back-story explanations. They always sound fresh and natural.

Betty Hechtman said...

Leigh, congrats on being on your tenth book!

Betty Hechtman said...

Linda, you are a master at juggling manuscripts and genres. I admire how you manage to do it all.

Betty Hechtman said...

LuAnn; It is a challenge to keep the characters where they belong.

Betty Hechtman said...

Planner, it is definitely a milestone and I am so grateful to able to be in this position.

chkntza said...

Thank you for letting us non authors in on how an author's mind works. It is so interesting to me as a reader how all this happens. Your books read so seamlessly that It seems like it is no work at all!

Betty Hechtman said...

Thank you for the compliment, Miriam.