Too Many Words In My Head

 

Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!

So, you all know that I’m working on Wife Unexpected, the fourth book in the Wives of Bravado County series, and I open that file every weekday to add more words to the story, but here’s what happened.

I’m going along, writing, deleting, rewording, trying again when all of a sudden, another character’s voice pops into my head. Now, I’ve been fully immersed in Faith and Tysen, hearing them talk to me (most times…sometimes they don’t say anything and I’m left trying to figure out what they want) but this was a different voice. Low and deep, kinda rumbling, a little on the hoarse side, but very pleasant…and persistent. Oh my gosh! So persistent!

"Write me!”

“Tell my story!”

Because I didn’t recognize this voice (no, hearing voices doesn’t  scare me because I hear the voices of my characters all the time. I’m not sure if other writers do. Maybe it’s just me.), I tried to ignore it. That didn’t work because it just became more insistent. And louder.

What was I to do? 

I was intrigued (and a little annoyed) by this persistent voice so I started asking it questions. You know—like who are you? Why are you talking to me NOW, when I’m knee-deep in another story? What do you want?

He just kept repeating ‘tell my story’.

“Well, I can’t tell your story if you don’t tell me who you are.”

Yes, I said this out loud. It was a good thing no one else in the house was awake, just the dogs, who are used to hearing me talk to myself.

“Tell my story,” came the answer again.

So here I am, sitting at my computer at 4:30 in the morning, arguing with a voice inside my head (and yes, talking to myself).

“Who are you?”

I hear laughter and that lovely voice says “Ryland Harper.”

Ryland Harper. Ryland Harper. I know that name (and I should because I name all my characters) and then it hits me, like a cast-iron skillet upside my head. He’s the hero in Mrs. Marlowe and The Monday Man, the fifth story in the Matchmaker Mischief series. Holy cow! I haven’t even written the fourth story yet!

“Why are you here now, Ryland?” I asked (the dog, my big girl, lifts her head from the futon and just stares at me, blinking her beautiful and confused brown eyes.) “You know I’m not ready for you yet.”

“Don’t care. You gotta write my words before you forget.”

And so I did. Easiest (and fastest) 900 words I’ve ever written (in less than an hour because I have limited time in the morning).

Ryland was happy and quieted because he’d gotten his way, but not before telling me he’d be back and I was able to get back to Tysen and Faith.

I guess it pays to listen to the voices in your head even if you’re not ready for them.  

And that’s all for me. Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie

Work In Progress

 

        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!

        It’s a beautiful morning as I sit down to enjoy my first cup of coffee and write this. It’s still hot, but this is summer in Arizona…and it’ll be hot for a while. That’s okay. The air conditioner is humming away so I’m staying cool. They say you get used to the heat, but I’ve been here forty-five years now and I can honestly say, no, I haven’t gotten used to it. Still, I can’t imagine being anywhere else.

        It’s been a busy week (it always is between the day job and the home stuff) but I feel like I accomplished a few things, especially on the writing front. I am 42K words into my current work in progress (Wife Unexpected, the fourth book in the Wives of Bravado County series). Now, whether these are good words or not remains to be seen. I am wondering if I somehow got off track, which is entirely possible. Like the last book I wrote (The Madam & Mr. MacLean), I did not write an outline or plot points so I’m winging it…and of course, writing the scenes as they come to me then puzzling it all in as I go. I may have mentioned before that I don’t write in a linear fashion. Believe me, I’ve tried, but it doesn’t seem to work for me.

        I can also report that I have viciously (yes, viciously!) ripped out entire pages in this work, sometimes one paragraph at a time, but more recently, several pages all at once. Does that make me want to cry? Yes. Yes, it does. The words don't always come easy. Sometimes they are dragged kicking and screaming from my brain so deleting them is devastating.

        Still, I am happy with what I have so far. Reasonably so. I’m trying to incorporate everything my editor has taught me (hahahaha, yes, it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks!). I have a list of words I’m trying to avoid. It’s a pretty long list and I never realized before how much I depend/use those words and that just makes it so much harder, but I’m willing to learn to make my stories better.

        And that’s about all for me. Wife Unexpected isn’t going to write itself so I should get back to it before the rest of the day takes over. Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie