Writing, stage one: coming up with ideas

The Liar’s Lullaby will be published in June. The manuscript is on its way to the printer. That means I’m done dinking around with it. I’ll get a chance to read the page proofs to check for typos, but at this stage in the process, I’m not going to dig into the text and edit it. Not going to change characters’ names, revise the ending, throw in a new subplot about a high school glee club, etc. If I did, not only would my editors freak out, but I’d have to pay for getting the pages reprinted. And that little kicker is what probably stops obsessive or undisciplined or out-of-control authors from blowing up their novels at the last minute.

And now that Liar‘s been put to bed, it’s time to start work on my next novel. Finding inspiration, and a decent story, takes time and effort. Typically, to get in touch with their muse, authors trek across the Sahara, drink heavily, and secretly record their relatives as they argue over Christmas dinner. But after a while that becomes old hat. And that’s not the way I work. Oh, no. I’m much more focused, intellectual, inspired.

So here, in no particular order, is what I do when coming up with ideas.

Walk the dog. Clean my office. Give up on cleaning office. Dig up scraps of paper on which I’ve scribbled plot ideas over the past four years. Scratch head, wonder what “Scary!” “bait – bad guy,” and “Bus plunge!!!” mean, and how they could possibly form the basis of a coherent plot. Eat chocolate. Watch Stormchasers, decide hunting tornados has mythic overtones — idiots chasing twisters across Oklahoma think they’re battling dragons. Order all of Joseph Campbell’s books on mythology. Drink more coffee. Tell kids: “I’m working. You make dinner.” Decide I need a new hairstyle. And so does the dog. He’d make a good punk. Scribble four pages of random notes that contain the words “Jo Beckett,” “Psych!” “Evan… hehehe” and “Don’t forget to pay phone bill.”

Watch entire Season 2 of 30 Rock. Continue to insist to kids that I’m working. List possible characters/sidekicks/villains for new novel. Cross off sparkly vampires, blue aliens. Upload my son’s music collection so I’ll have fresh tunes to write by. Get caught playing solitaire on my phone. Give up my avoidance behavior and finally go to the gym. Think up a great idea, fall off treadmill, find pen and write it on my hand. Hope the ink lasts until I get home.

And, finally, sit my butt down and start writing. Simple.