It’s a Tough Job . . .
…but somebody has to do it.
Go to Florida in January, I mean. In this case, I was in beautiful Sarasota for one glorious week.
But lest you get jealous, let me point out that I was, indeed, working. Brainstorming, in fact.
I think I’ve mentioned my brainstorming group previously on this blog. We’re a group of five authors who get together at least once a year to talk career, kick around story ideas and (just for good measure) gossip about the publishing industry.
And believe me, in a place as lovely as Sarasota, that isn’t easy. But we are nothing if not determined and we worked very hard every day. So hard, in fact, that we had only a couple of hours “off” one afternoon to visit the beach where I walked in sand as fine and as soft as talcum powder, took pictures of gulls and sandpipers, and dipped my toes into the Gulf of Mexico. The water was very cold; I wondered how the intrepid souls out swimming in it managed.
The rest of the time? Well, we each get two one-and-a-half hour sessions in which we can discuss any ideas we like. I used my two sessions for two separate mystery ideas and we came up with some great plot twists and an interesting character or two.
Of course, that doesn’t mean the work is over. Today I’ll transcribe my notes on the first of those books. Then between now and next week when I’d like to start the actual writing, I’ll do a chapter by chapter outline. Still plenty of work to be done, but the brainstorming helped me come up with main plot points and a bare bones skeleton on which I can hang the meat of my story.
So don’t let these pictures fool you. Sure it was heaven on earth–but I was working hard. Honest.
Sandhill cranes grazing on a front lawn in the neighborhood where we stayed
Another neighborhood denizen
A view of the Gulf. There’s nothing like sunshine in January!
