Staying inside the lines

The blog tour is over, the book is in the book stores, I’m exhausted. And today I’m getting on a plane to L.A.  I was invited to speak at the Palos Verdes Woman’s Club’s 50th annual Books and Author Luncheon on Wednesday. I’ll be there with my good friend Patty Smiley, who has been gracious enough to offer me a place to hang my hat while on the West Coast. That’s what I love about being a mystery writer: Mystery writers are amazingly supportive. Coming to town? Need a bed? No problem.

Although I’m not big on flying these days, I am looking forward to the six-hour direct flight from Hartford. I’m bringing the laptop with me, so maybe I can finally finish this book proposal. There will be no Internet to lure me away; I will be in a confined place. And I will, of course, be on Xanax (it’s the only way I fly). What better way to not stress out about a proposal? Stripped of anxiety of all sorts, perhaps the couple of plot points that have been evading me will miraculously appear on my computer screen.

As I’ve said before, writing a proposal is not natural for me, but this time I’ve done something a little different. I’ve actually made a sort of outline tree. I’ve written two or three words for the backstory, the plot point, the characters, and I’ve been cutting and pasting and moving them all over the place, seeing where everything fits. This is working, surprisingly. It’s sorting out all those thoughts in my head and putting them in order. Granted, maybe not the order in which they will actually appear, but at least they’re there and organized slightly.

While I enjoy writing a book from the seat of my pants, there is something rather comforting knowing that I have a direction to start working toward.

Karen

P.S. I want to give a big shout-out to all those who followed my virtual tour last week and also my blog hosts: Carrie, Julia, Wendy, Iliana, Christina, The Lipstick Women, Clea, and Natasha. They were fantastic and made my blog tour a huge success! And while the tour is officially over,  Clair Lamb has asked me to guest on her blog Answer Girl on Friday. I will be writing about a favorite book that I own.

Comments

[Louise Ure]

Have a good time in SoCal, my dear! You and Patty in the same zip code is a danger. I expect detailed reports.

[Michelle at Scribbit]

You may be exhausted but I have to say your life sounds terribly exciting!