::pokes brain::

::ideas squirt out::

….ewwwwww.

Still working out ideas. I’m giving each story its time. Outlines starting in a week or so, due to hijinks with birthdays and V-Day and so on.

That’s what I always ask myself after every completed project. Okay. What now?

I did a leisurely cruise through my old (1 year+) story starts and…I love three of them. Possibly even four. I can’t write three (four) novels at once, though, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned in the last ten years, it’s this: there should always be more irons in the fires and no story is your darling.

(Except when it is your darling, but I suspect you can only ever let it be your darling when you have five bestsellers published and the NYC editors breathlessly waiting for your next submission — but that’s for another time.)

I used to let a novel be my darling, and I would ruthlessly write, and rewrite, that one story until it was a tattered flag waving in the wind. That way, my friends, lies madness.

No story is my darling anymore, but I still love three (four) of them, and the conclusion I’ve come to is I’m going to outline all three (four) and then decide which one to write. And once I finish one, I’ll have an answer to “What now?” Move on to the next one, of course.

Him, from the bedroom: “It’s quiet out there.”

Me, on the couch in the living room and typing: “Yup.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m writing.”

A pause. “Writing writing?”

“Mmhm.”

“Ohhhh.”

There have been many serious discussions between me and The Guy about personal time, which both of us — being older adults, being solitary creatures — need on a regular basis.

I have told him I’m not the kind of chick who needs to be by his side 100% of the time, and he nods and says he understands, but I suspect over the next six months he will really come to understand as I slide back into writerly things.

I’ve been dealing with deadlines from hell and The Guy moving in, but I do actually hope to get some substantial writing on Lelia done this weekend. And if not this weekend, then certainly the next, when the first round of holiday visitations end, and I can pretend things are normal for a little while.

I caved into my inner geek and bought a laptop. The economic stimulus and story sale for the Valdemar anthology both helped in this decision.

I’ve been writing, I just haven’t been blogging.

All is well.

Sleep now.

My brain is currently a rich toxic gumbo (thank you, Hurricane Katrina newscasters who permanently tattooed that coin-of-phrase on my skull) of ideas. On one hand I need to write the thing for the thing, on the other hand I need to start a new book, on the other I am contemplating creative stuff for HJ.

YES, I have three hands. Do not mock my metaphorical congenital defects. Shiva would be proud.

But mostly I am letting that stuff stew (gumbate? gumbide?) while I enjoy the holidays. This is a time where I excuse myself from the computer and tune out of the Internets. I know someday I’ll be saddled with an iPhone or a Blackberry or a laptop and after that Work Email Will Never Ever Be the Same. I can’t deny it. I see it in nearly every game manager, exec, and producer I run into, but I resist, resist! My brain needs time to braise.

For now I am with my folks, drinking good wine and discussing the year in review, as well as refining what I see as forthcoming in 2008. The wine has a great way of making these goals seem — I dunno — tangible.

Have a happy holiday, and I’ll answer your email right after I get back to work on the 28th.

Been a while. My latest writing venture was an article for a magazine (more once I know the actual issue and whether it’s accepted), and at some point I need to outline the next Lelia and Wil story, because I’m writing one.

I’m still trying to figure out what I want to write. My three loves are the modern world with the ravens, the mute girl, and the forest of the sun. I just need to pick one.

Here’s the problem: Picking one.

I will. I just don’t know when.

Modern? Epic? Revise something? Revisit something?

Outline? Research? Re-evaluate?

I really don’t know.

But, hey, it’s not like anyone is expecting anything from me at this time.

This morning I did have a great idea for a lead-in line, that all-important “hook”. I freaking hate hooks, but I think this was is sufficiently quirky. Hopefully I’ll still feel that way six months from now.