Following the Candy Trail

After finishing a huge project like a novel, I'm always torn between the two forces of wanting to jump right in to begin another and needing some time to recover.

Being a writer for me is like being a child in a Grimm Fairy Tale wandering in an imaginative woods. There are lots of dark paths and evil temptations calling for us to visit. As in a those Choose-Your-Own Adventure books that were ever so popular in my youth, some paths lead to good graces and being rescued by helicopters while others leave you trapped on a cliff with the option to do jumping jacks for warmth or perish from the cold.

The completion of a story is proof of successfully navigating one such path through those dark woods. Reaching the clearing on a high, the momentum urges you on to the next path. But if you start skipping away too hastily, you might miss the wolf waiting behind the trees. I know because I used to be that foolish character. There are the skeletons of many dead manuscripts in my closet to prove it.

I have three fantastic (in my opinion) novel ideas waiting to be written. In some ways this is a good speed bump since I can't write them all at once. I will let them all stew in my cauldron for a bit. I will take a rest in the middle of the haunted woods and let the apparitions visit me. I will ask them careful questions, figure out their game, and chose the right path after careful consideration and a freshly baked muffin or two. In the meantime, I'm keeping my mind busy by writing a children's book that takes place on the other side of the galaxy.