Renewed vigor and determination!

What can I do when there are too many ideas and not enough hours in the day?

I've been editing like a crazy person in both of my finished novels for the last few weeks, and I'm so pleased with the polished products gleaned from creative workshopping and suggestions! They are gorgeous and rich and flowing ... really something I'm going to be proud to share with everyone! Last week alone, I added probably 5,000 words at least in backstory to characters that I now see desperately needed to be anchored in the realm of Enna.

Alas, something has had to fall by the wayside, and that has been my Nano. What's a Nano? It's an exercise in writing I agreed to participate in for the month of November -- the goal being to begin and finish a novel of 50,000 words in the month. I began on a hot streak with 8,000 words in PAUSE – which I'm going to debut aloud at my Pre-Thanksgiving Writers Soiree at my house in a few weeks – but I haven't even opened the file in a week. Too many things going on! Not that I actually expected to finish the entire thing in a month, but I was willing to give it a show! Besides ... PAUSE is going to be about 90,000 when it's done, by my estimates, so 50,000 would barely have been half way.

Anyway, I've decided that this is the final straw! I'm kick-starting myself back into the habit of writing everyday that I was so proud of this past year, and it starts with the week of Thanksgiving! After the Soiree, I'm officially taking the whole next week off (with the exception of eating on Thursday and shopping on Friday) to indulge my creative streak and really let my muses out of their pampered little cages!

I've got so many ideas just bursting out of my head, from descriptions like 'he spoke like an elegant douchebag,' and places like 'the Cave Sea' that are begging for a new home! I'm also stocked up on great quotes and dialogue ideas, plus I have such a set direction to go in that I'm DYING to get moving!

Can you feel the enthusiasm? Seriously. Keep moving forward!

PS – I have a meeting today with a friend and former colleague of mine who, aside from being an amazing illustrator and author of 'The Rift' comic book series, is also the graphic designer for Sherrilyn Kenyon! How cool, right?

PPS – A dear friend of mine has announced plans to write a non-fiction book about her son, who has Asperger's (a high-functioning form of autism). She claims she was inspired by my writing to start herself, but we all know she's just an *amazing* woman and mom who makes her own life and those around her so fun! Her name is Elisa Leavitt -- remember it, because her story is going to blow up – that's how good it's going to be :)