Home again, home again, jiggedy jig

Another trip, another group of potential colleges explored.  Home for a few days before we turn around and do it again.

The travel is wreaking havoc with my writing schedule, but having a few hours on the road every day for several days, and having a teenager asleep in the shotgun seat, gives me lots of thinking time.  I've been letting my subconscious loose on some story issues in the new WIP (dystopian/future/Oliver Twist), a short story that several readers reported a "WTF" experience at the end, and thoughts about a sequel for "The Between."

A blank page isn't the only way to work on the writing.

And we're going to be headed out on our annual August family holiday, which also entails lots of driving.  But this time, I have my husband with me, which is a joy for many reasons, not only that there's someone to share the driving with.  LOL.  My husband and I have a track record of talking through/brainstorming my next WIP during the 8-10 hours of driving between Boston and Montreal (and back) and then between Boston and Maryland.  Having him as a captive audience is a wonderful thing for my muse.  :)

My husband is not a writer, but he is a natural storyteller and a voracious reader.  He also knows me better than anyone on the planet and he's wonderful at asking just the right questions to get me to solve plot and character problems.

He's also extremely gracious about sharing me with those voices in my head that take my attention away from him. 

On the writing front:  Nephele loved the revisions for "The Between."  We're doing one last typo check and then she's going to work on a submission packet for it.  It's funny--I think she's more upset than I am that "House of Many Doors" didn't get any offers.  I still believe in that story and still want to see it in the hands of readers, but if "The Between" is a better match for the current market, then I say go with that one.

I'm in this for the long haul.  I have six completed novels (okay, five, if you consider the first as a trunk novel that would need a complete and utter re-write to be ready for prime time*) and would be happy to see any of them be the one that succeeds. 

And really, I don't think of "House" as a failed project.  I just don't think it found the right editor at the right time yet.

If you're still reading on, here's a wonderful link by JC Hutchins on Writer Unboxed:  "Are you Writing, or Talking About Writing?"   Really, it could be about anything you want to do.

So now, I'm going to stop talking, and go back to work.  :)

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*That first story, "The Wings of Winter" still has a place in my heart.  Someday, I'll get back to it and write in in the way it deserves.