A reader recently asked how I manage to write so many books, so I’m going to try to write a series of posts explaining my process.
My answer to her was, “I started dictating”…which is true, but it’s not the whole answer. Sure, dictating has streamlined my process. Staying in “flow” instead of fixing spelling and punctuation errors definitely makes it easier to maintain my creativity. And yes, I have a great team working with me, and that alleviates a lot of pressure. But honestly, one of the reasons I write so many books is that I’ve got so many rattling around in my head….ALL THE TIME.
This week I started a book, a spinoff of the Neurotic Hitwoman series, that I first conceived of more than three and a half years ago. I wrote a blurb. I worked on character sheets. I did some plotting.
But the timing wasn’t right. So for years I let it roll around in the back of my head like a rabid dust bunny picking up bits and pieces, here and there. Then, while writing THE HITWOMAN GOES TO PRISON, the time for this new series suddenly felt right. So I dug a hole and planted a seed.
And in Hitwoman 23, I did the necessary watering and weeding. Now it’s a seedling of a story…with a complete plot sketched out and the first chapter done.
I’m doing this while working on the Psychic Consignment Mysteries.
If you’re keeping count…that means I’m actively working on three series at the moment: Hitwoman, Consignment and the Hitwoman spinoff. (We won’t even talk about the passion project I’m working on…which will probably never see the light of day.)
Each one is at a different level of development. I’m writing the spinoff, preparing Hitwoman for my story editor and working on the story edits I’ve gotten back for Consignment 3. Each takes a different kind of thinking.
And don’t even ask about the stories still inside my head!!!
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