JB Lynn

Hijinks, Hilarity and Heart

psychic consignment mystery

Writing as a passion AND a job

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The other day I took a midmorning break and met a friend at a park (Red Bug Slough if you’ve read One Woman’s Junk) so that we could walk our dogs together.

Toward the end of our visit she asked, “What will you do for the rest of the day?”

And I answered, “I should finish the first draft of Hitwoman 22.” (for the record, I came close, but didn’t finish it until the following morning)

“How do you know?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” I asked, totally confused.

“How do you know you’ll finish it? How do you know when it will end?”

“Because I’m scheduled to do the last few chapters,” I explained.

“You know how it will end?” Her disbelief was evident.

“I don’t start a book until I know how it ends,” I told her. “And I’m scheduled to finish it today.”

I then had to launch into a whole explanation about how writing is my passion, but it’s also my job and I treat MOST of my projects as such. (That said, I’ll freely admit that I’m usually working on one or two “passion” projects that I don’t really expect to ever sell. They’re my “fun” stuff. My reward for doing the work.)

So in case you’re wondering, as of today, I’m currently working on the story edits for the 21st  Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman book, the second Psychic Consignment Mystery and a couple of passion projects. Make sure you’re signed up for my newsletter to keep up-to-date on my new releases.

And check out this great pic my friend took at the park of my tree-climbing dog  🙂

 

 

So many names….so many projects

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There are three index cards on my desk right now. Each of them contains a list of names.

(No, these aren’t potential targets for Maggie to knock off.)

They’re character names for the THREE projects I’m working on right now. I don’t need reminders of the names for my main, or recurring characters, but for those who are minor or new, I need a cheat sheet. Or three.

 

Otherwise someone from the CONFESSIONS OF A SLIGHTLY NEUROTIC HITWOMAN world might wander into a PSYCHIC CONSIGNMENT MYSTERY.

What a mess that would be! Can you imagine the arguments God and Him could get into?!?!

 

Tweaking my writing process

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“Writing is like reinventing the wheel — over and over and over and over again, because each story you tell is different.” JB Lynn

This year, I’ve been using dictation/transcription to get the first draft of my books done. I plot out a book in broad strokes, do a slightly more detailed chapter-by-chapter outline and then dictate it, one chapter at a time.

Some days I swear it’s better than my “old” method, some days the “old” method seems better. For the record, my “old” method was constantly changing too. I’ve handwritten entire books, utilized speech recognition software (MOST frustrating method) used an Alphasmart word processor (still one of my preferred methods if I’m stuck) and of course, written on my computer.

When I get the transcribed chapters back, I edit them. When the book is “complete” I edit them again.

That’s where I am in the process today. I’ve just finished editing the “completed” version of the 21st (!!!) book in the CONFESSIONS OF A SLIGHTLY NEUROTIC HITWOMAN SERIES.  

Now it will go to my story editor. Once I get it back, I’ll edit the story content yet again.

In the meantime, I’m scheduled to work on the second book in the Psychic Consignment Mystery series.

BUT I’m dying to work on Hitwoman 22.

What to do?

If I dictate one and type the other, would it be possible to write some of both each day?

Or is that taking the tweaking a bit too far?  I’m going to experiment and see!

Writing Anxiety

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I love my job…but…I hate starting to write.

Not because I hate writing, but because I am constantly trying to overcome my fear.

Most of the time I approach writing with a knot in my stomach, a distracted buzzing in my brain, and dread in my heart.

And yet, most days, I force myself to write. Most days I really enjoy it once I get into some kind of flow. Almost always, I end up feeling better for having done it.

My favorite Dorothy Parker quote is, “I hate writing, I love having written.”

It’s nice to know I’m not alone.

But you’d think, after all this time, the process would get easier. Instead it feels harder with the added pressure of trying to meet the expectations of readers.

Writing this post is a form of procrastination. It allows me to feel productive, when really I’m just avoiding writing new chapters. I guess that means I should go write now.

Or maybe I’ll take a nap…a nap might help.

Or maybe I’ll go for a walk…a walk could help.

Or maybe I’ll make some more coffee…coffee helps.

**I’m not JUST complaining today. I’m finishing up the copy edits for ONE WOMAN’S JUNK and later I’ll actually be adding words to Hitwoman 21…just no guarantees they’ll be “good” words.  😉

Waiting is a dream killer

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I was commiserating with a writer friend earlier about how difficult it is to wait for developmental story edits.

We were discussing how our minds play tricks on us as we wait.

For example, I’m ALWAYS convinced my editor is going to tell me that what I’ve come up with is absolutely awful and I should quit this writing game immediately.

Every. Single Time.

Because of this, right now I’m thinking the ONE WOMAN’S JUNK will not be the first in my Psychic Consignment Mysteries series. Instead, it will be the last book I ever wrote.

Which makes it harder to write the current book I’m working on — the next book in the CONFESSIONS OF A SLIGHTLY NEUROTIC HITWOMAN series.

It’s a nasty cycle.

But I’m plugging along on Hitwoman 21 and keeping my fingers crossed that One Woman’s Junk is SLIGHTLY better than I’m thinking.

Wish me sanity!

Deadline hangover

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I have “deadline hangover” which basically means I’m creatively spent and having trouble stringing complete sentences together.
But I’m thrilled to report that I’ve sent my new book, One Woman’s Junk to my developmental story editor!
I’ll be explaining more about why these items were important to my creative process as we get closer to the release date.
 
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With any luck, this first book in my Psychic Consignment Mystery series, featuring the Concordia sisters, will be released in August.
The rest of the series is already sketched out, but the next book I write will be Hitwoman 21.
But first I’m taking a couple of days off. I’m going to indulge in the reward of watching the adaptation of GOOD OMENS.  I love the book and I’ve only heard good things about the show.
 
 

Perfection? Pffffttt!!!!

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I recently completed a month-long challenge to try to learn to draw.
I knew I wasn’t going to be good at it, but I figured I’d give it a try since I thought that thinking differently would be good for my brain.
I felt compelled to share my efforts daily on Instagram — like the universe was pretty much screaming, “Put it out there!” kind of compelled.
 
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I don’t know about you, but I find it difficult to “put it out there” when I know I’m going to fail. It’s uncomfortable. It’s embarrassing.
But one of the things I dislike about social media is the way people only show the best sides of themselves, so I followed the calling and put 30 days worth of sketches out there.
I’d love to tell you that I became a great artist. That didn’t happen and I don’t know that any amount of practice could help me become one. My brain just doesn’t work that way.
What did happen though, was that I became a less judgmental of myself. I found it easier to focus on the process, rather than the end result.
I’ve really used that lesson as I developed my new Psychic Consignment Mystery series. I did what “felt fun” rather than worrying about what the “shoulds” were.
I can’t wait for you to read it!  Make sure to sign up for my newsletter to find out when it comes out.
In the meantime, if you need a good laugh feel free to check out my sketches on Instagram.
 

New month, new book, new series

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Last month I focused on telling you about my writing retreat. This month, I’m going to tell you about the new series I’m working on.
This new series has been in the works for a couple of years.
Yes, you read that right. YEARS.
I initially conceived of it in 2016, but it didn’t “feel right” at the time. It took me quite a while to figure out exactly what I wanted it to be about. Then it took a while to develop the characters. Finally I got to the point where I plotted out the arc of the three book series. (I’ve sketched out another three books, but there’s no guarantee I’ll ever write those.)
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So now I’m working on ONE WOMAN’S JUNK which is Book 1 in the Psychic Consignment Mystery series.
Stay tuned this month and I’ll tell you about the new method of writing I’m trying out as I write this book, how it’s coming along, and I may share a snippet or two of the manuscript.
And for those that are going to ask — Yes, I WILL continue to write more books in the Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman series.   🙂