Authors are easy to please for Christmas gifts. Usually, all they want are notebooks, fancy pens, or cute or inspiring pictures to place on their desks.
Not too long ago, a really good friend of mine didn't give me any ordinary notebook. This one had a groovy, peace-lovin' theme.
At that time, I'd beaten to death a composition book, outlining every last detail of my most recent novel . I still wasn't done with it, though, and was tempted to immediately use this new one. It was a sketchbook. On some of the pages, it had this and other like phrases:
I've almost reached the end of my eleventh book, Kill the Locust, and have been outlining the story. Not unlike any of my other novels I've outlined, I've made several attempts, and each one is better than the last.
The past two early mornings, I've noticed I need to fill in the holes of what I believe is missing. In the small spaces I have between short descriptions of each chapter, I jotted some more things. Then, a phrase I'd never used before:
CHAPTER CHALLENGES
How will I weave in such things as how Amy and Jeremy's love grows and is tested, the fun she and her best friend Monica have, and the challenges in the career path she wants to take...all in spite of worsening endometriosis symptoms.
For the rest of this week, I'll be mostly away from social media and my laptop for Thanksgiving. When I'm alone, like in my much-cherished early mornings, I'm going to open my Woodstock sketchbook and see not only how I can meet these self-imposed challenges, but also find new ones.
To that end, peace, outlining & turkey.
