This comes as no surprise, I’m sure, but this week’s plan is to WRITE! National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) begins tonight at midnight, and I’m primed to go! I have my plot roughly figured out, especially after a great brainstorming session this morning with my daughter (best brainstormer EVER!) and son-in-law. Today I can’t actually start writing (til midnight), but I’ll be working on characterization: first, I do a Character Interview, based on Alicia Rasley’s Character Interview that I got from a workshop she gave years ago. It takes 3-4 hours to finish *per character* so I only do them for main characters, but by the time I’m done I have a really great handle on that character. Once I’ve gotten to know them, then I set up character archetypes and interactions, using The Complete Guide to Heroes and Heroines: Sixteen Master Archetypes. This has been incredibly helpful to me, I’ve been using it since 2000 when I first started writing seriously.  Actually, now that I’m using Scrivener for writing (which is amazing!!!), I’m going to switch things up by splitting the screen and working with the archetypes and interview at the same time, as I think it’ll be even more effective than doing one, then the other, then going back to tweak the answers, etc. Honestly you need each to do the other, so it should work well to do them together.

I have yet to come up with a working title. It’s another shapeshifter romance, the second book after A Cat for Troy, which is the  manuscript currently in final revisions for a possible January 2021 release. The book in between (tentatively entitled ShadowCat), was my last year’s NaNo project and is at 50,400 words. In this year’s project I’m changing things up by moving into non-cat territory; although the heroine is a clouded leopard, the hero is a Great Pyrenees shapeshifter.

I’m still actively seeking beta readers for another round of Cat before I send it off to an editor for a final read-through and corrections. I have a webpage that explains what beta readers do, and my own process for handing beta reading, and some links to youtube videos for those new to the process. If you’re reading this and you’re interested, please go to my Beta Readers webpage, then give me a shout!

In Other, Non-Writing-Related News……

• Granddaughter Ms. Sophia! She’s now officially a toddler, and can toddle from one end of the house to the other, AND back! 🙂 She also loves carrying things around. The most common refrain heard at any given time of the day is “Have you seen my phone?” and “Where’s the remote?” Once my son-in-law’s phone was lost for three days, he’d about given up hope when he found it underneath the cat track toy… we’d moved it around, but never had thought to look *under* it, LOL!
• Coronavirus, of course. I’ve been in self-imposed #stayhome since March 15th, when I read this article by a journalist in Italy. I’m staying home and safe, and hope you are, too!

 

The Books

1. Truck Stop
2. Wishes in a Bottle (Wishes & Dreams #1)
3. A Gift of Jacinth (Wishes & Dreams #2)
4. SwanSong (Sons of the Desert #1)
5. Castles in the Sand (Sons of the Desert #2)

 

The Manuscripts

1. Finished Manuscripts, major revisions in progress prior to 2nd wave of beta reading:
   1. WHEN DARKNESS FALLS (201,775 words, as follows:)
      1. Book 1: The Palace (61,150)
      2. Book 2: The Dark Lord (90,500)
      3. Book 3: The Prophecy (39,400)
   2. A CAT FOR TROY, Wishes & Dreams #3
2. In-Progress Manuscripts:
   1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, Sons of the Desert #3
   2. SHADOW CAT, Wishes & Dreams #4
3. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
   1. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
   2. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
   3. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle
4. Planned Manuscripts:
   1. HATED MATE, Wishes & Dreams #5
   2. UNNAMED, Wishes & Dreams #6

 

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order except as indicated)

1. Characterization work on hero & heroine for my NaNo project
2. Midnight tonight: WRITE!
3. Keep staying home and safe.