One Author's Journey #10

This is the tenth post I have written about my writing journey. At this time I am writing and assembling thoughts and facts for book ten. The title is Christmas in Nashville. It is Book II in The Nashville Series. I began this book by going through magazines and clipping out pictures of people. I chose children, men, women, and teens to glue into the thick blue journal I use for the contemporary fiction books I have begun to write. I sort the photos into "families" and "couples". Then, I write characteristics about them and a sketch of their story line.

The next thing I did for this series is to research facts about the Vietnam War. I read a book and several articles on it. This helped me write a timeline for events in the books for this series. To say the least, I have learned so much from this process. It made it easier to plot the book.

This book has been churning in my mind off and on for months, but it has been he most difficult for e to put words to. I have chalked it up to fatigue. Because of this, I have stepped back for a little bit to allow the story to develop more organically. I have facts in place, but it needs heart.

Another book is partially written and was actually going to fit as an independent book between Walk Slowly Through the Dark and Christmas in Nashville, but readers were anxious to get the next installment of the Nashville Series, so I opted to allow myself plenty of time to write Christmas in Nashville this summer.

Sometimes I feel like one of those performers in a circus act whose job it is to keep a bunch of plates spinning. I have had this feeling even as a mother of young children. Now, the 'children' are the books I have been blessed to write. It actually is a delicate balance of writing, re-writing, marketing, and relationship with other authors as well as readers. The last plate that gets ignored until it is ready to topple is the 'recharge plate'. This summer, I am plugging in to The Power Source more than ever. God is the reason for everything in my life. I know this summer will be an important step in the next step of my journey as an author.
Elaine Littau, author