Writer's block? Me?

 Seeing that I'd books released in October (Whistling Fireman) and November (Bad Omen), a friend asked me if I ever had writer's block. I laughed and replied that I suffered from writer's diarrhea, with ideas flowing faster than my fingers could type them.

I think there are several reasons I'm afflicted with that malady:

-I'm disciplined. I write or research for a few hours every day. Some days, when the story is really rolling, I'll write for five, or six hours, taking breaks for walks and meals.

-I do a lot of research, which provides me with tons of information. Some of my research results in items of immediate interest. Other tidbits get stored for the future.

-I travel and enjoy tying tidbits I've seen and experienced into the books.

-I'm blessed with creative muses who pelt me with plots and subplots. I mean, lots of plots and subplots. More than I'll ever be able to use in my lifetime.

-Writing on-going series means that I know my characters well. I know how they'll react in the situations I throw them into. I sense when they're playful and likely to tease each other. I have a feel for what they might say, and what situations they might be thrown into.

-I don't have a lot of outside personal distractions. As I've often said, "I have no life!" What I mean is that I don't have a lot of drama in my personal life which allows me to concentrate on my writing without having to deal with the distractions of teen children, or intrusive neighbors. As I said in an earlier blog, writing takes emotional energy. Life's friction makes it difficult to hear the voices of the characters.

BWL recently reminded me that I needed to provide information to the designer who was available to work on the cover of "Western Justice" my upcoming 2024 Fletcher mystery. While drafting the back cover blurb and an overview of the plot, I realized that I had a general idea, but not an outline, of the following 2024 books. With the "western Justice" information sent off, I sat down and drafted the same information for the following three books. My rough ideas turned into book outlines. Drafting plot abstracts and considering photos for the cover, drew me into the location of those books, and put me into my protagonists' shoes. 

Now, here I sit with three book outlines, the visions of the locations in my mind, and characters yelling at me to sit down and record their thoughts. Yup, I'm ready for the onset of writer's diarrhea. All I need are several unstructured months in my favorite chair, with a cup of coffee at my elbow, and a blank wall where I can envision the scenes as they appear to me. 

Check out Bad Omen. I wrote for a couple of weeks before Christopher, the main character, started speaking to me. Once he warmed to me, Christopher became quite chatty. Christopher and I backed up and rewrote the early chapters, but I never lacked ideas.

Hovey, Dean - BWL Publishing Inc. (bookswelove.net)

https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Omen-Nunavut-Dean-Hovey/dp/0228627532/