Back in Business

I was planning to take a break from writing, because I was out of things to say and kind of bored with it. That break didn't last too long!

I wasn't trying to think of new subjects to write about, because I was actually looking forward to changing up my routine. In an effort to think of other creative things I might want to to,  I intentionally paid more attention to the ideas that bubble up, usually in the wee hours of the morning when I'm awake but it's too early to get up.

I didn't find myself longing to learn to play the tuba or take up weaving.  Instead, themes run through my head. Rough ideas tumble around and are rubbed smooth by bouncing off one another. Characters emerge, dimly at first, and then they gradually come into focus. These characters, with this theme? No! Those other characters are better for that theme.

I sit up and jot down notes (that I can occasionally actually read in the light of day). Notes become character sketches. A very general and tentative outline provides a place to start. I put it away for another day.

A few weeks later, I randomly start typing. The narrator's voice is amazing. It's a different voice than I've used before. A male narrator.  My narrator has always been me, even when the POV character is male. This narrator has a voice of his own. Right now I'm almost thirty pages into the first draft and I still don't know his name, but his voice is getting stronger with every paragraph I write.

Stale? Bored? Burnt out? Blocked?

Not any more!

I'm back in business.

But, I'm going to take my time with this one. It's going to be tricky.