Inspiration

"You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”- Jack London

That’s my favorite quote about writing and usually, it sums up the process for me. Sure, inspiration strikes, but then it ebbs and you still need to write the story. I’ve found it’s far more about discipline and hard work than it is about transcendent moments of brilliance.

But sometimes it is all about inspiration. I’ve been working on my first (and second) historical romance for nearly a year (with some time off in the middle for real life stuff). They’ll definitely happen, but the process has taught me that historical is harder, it takes more time, and I write it slower. The first one is off for another round of pre-reading and feedback and then we’ll see what I need to do next.

In the meantime….

I was traveling for work and I had a little downtime one morning, so I went for a walk. I found this used bookstore, which seemed to be a good place to kill an hour. Inside, it was charming, well-stocked, and had a college boy with glasses manning the register. Within minutes a story started unfolding in my head. I started writing a week later on May 1. Less than a month later I’m 3/4 through it.

Yes, sometimes you have to fight for every word. And sometimes they practically fall into your lap.

A little picture tease for the new story, while I finish it up: