As most authors know, if we’re not sitting down and writing, our minds continually race with changes that need to be made to current projects or ideas for possible new work(s) that turn into potential books. I am no exception to this restless train of thought process that consumes writers. As usual, continually fighting with time to write, I find myself chomping at the bit to get back to my office to create, in silence, where I can think about the storyline I intend to forge and the characters that I desire to develop.
I was all set to start a sequel to my last novel when out of the blue an unexpected event involving my oldest daughter led me to an idea that could potentially include an entire series. The thought of writing a series and being invested in my characters for more than one book brought me so much joy that I abandoned my previous sequel idea. Before long, I had fleshed out my main character, mapped out the storyline, which included an intricate plot, and created most of my supporting characters. I’d even invented an unexpected twist that should leave readers surprised and wanting to read more, should, being the keyword. Isn’t this what every author hopes for, right, their readers sitting on the edge of their seats wanting to turn that next page desperately? Trust me, we all want that!
I’d been thinking about this potential new series so much I even had my cover picked out, the plot for the second book, and had developed the storyline for book number two. When I say I was thrilled beyond words to have a series on my hands, that wasn’t an understatement, and at over ten-thousand-words-in and continuously surrounded by content, I’m off to a pretty decent start! So then what happened, you might ask, well, the worst possible thing ever. I woke up!
I’d had the most amazing, frightening, unusual dream. Concerning, because the dream its self was incredibly thought-provoking, and the more I thought about it, well, the more interesting the concept of the dream became. Visual beyond words, continually scrolling through my head like an old fashioned movie reel scene-by-scene, this dream now consumed my mind twenty-four-seven. Intensified by on-going worldwide bizarre events only added to possible material that could be pulled and used. Now, forced to decide which work to do? Proceed with the series that I had my heart set on writing, write the unexpected project in a genre that I hadn’t yet tackled nor had the desire to enter until an unusual dream took over my mind, or write more than one book at a time. Writing multiple projects, which many authors do successfully pull off, isn’t something that I can usually do. Why? Simple, time, it’s NEVER on my side. Now what?
This dilemma is something that authors/writers often find themselves in. What to do when one finds themselves in this type of situation can become a problem, an exciting challenge, a fun journey, or all of the above; I guess it’s how we look at it. Honestly, I haven’t quite decided what I’m going to do. My gut instinct is telling me, and I often follow my gut, to start with the dream. It is nagging at me as if I’m supposed to write it, and I have no idea why. The visual in my mind is taunting me, and that inevitably means something, right? Maybe not. Either way, one thing is for sure, writing projects, I’m not going to run out of ideas any time soon, and I am, most definitely, ready to get started!
Copyright © 2020 Amanda M. Thrasher
