Monday, October 15, 2012

I hear the music, but don't know the words yet



When I start writing a new novel, the inspiration does not just appear like magic.  Oh, the story is in my head.  I may know how it ends.  I have written some beginning chapters, but things don’t seem right.  The feeling isn’t there. The darn story is churning away in my brain, but I just cannot get it out on paper.

Writing is not hard but getting it right is.  Creating conflict.  Ending chapters in cliff hanger.  Developing characters that the reader can love or hate. These are the challenges of writing.

My latest story that just went off to the literary agent began at the end of 2010. I envisioned a college professor, working with an eccentric young man, enlisting him to solve a crime.  I wrote the scenes and let my writer friends read them.  The feedback was good, but I didn’t like it. Not edgy. Almost 10 months elapsed before it all came together.  I threw out the first drafts and started anew.  This time it was an unscrupulous opportunist taking advantage of the disturbed young woman to solve a murder.

My next story plays out in my head like a song.  I can hear the music and hum along.  Just haven’t gotten the lyrics right yet.

How do your stories begin?

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