Ooops – Tuesday just slipped right by me! I’m in the grips of what I refer to, in a conflicted joyful way, as “last chapter syndrome”. Even though I feel a little sad to say goodbye to the characters, it’s such a relief good feeling to be reaching the end of something that has consumed me for the past year my next novel! However, that doesn’t mean that I’m actually right at “The End” yet. That’s the truly difficult part for me.
The main character, a woman named Katherine Price, decided to do something at the last minute which I wasn’t expecting. You would think she might have at least given me an inkling but …nope … there I was, typing away and all of a sudden it was like … OMG,she’s going to do … what? But it turns out it’s a very good thing to do and actually is helping me tie up some loose ends. There are times when our characters really do know what’s best. That’s one of the amazing and surprising aspects of writing fiction. I love it!
However, it also means that I have not been thinking about much else (except golf once a week for now and, of course, The Adorables, … my salvation after a winter of being stuck to this chair and computer) so please forgive this brief post. I’ve got to get back to work before my husband leaves me and finish this novel.
Next week, I’m going to introduce you to a couple of fabulous women who run a wonderful, and immensely helpful, business, the Downsizing Divas! You’re going to love them AND love how they do what they do!
By way of an intro, here’s their book and the link to find out more about it.
Darn! I enlarged the image and now it’s a bit fuzzy. Sorry! Click that link and check it out and I’ll bring it all to you properly next Tuesday!
More Shameless Self-promotion here: I’ve got a Mother’s Day promotion for The Bridge Club running on Kindle Nation Daily’s facebook page. Need a good read for mom? The Bridge Club might be just the answer! Thanks for passing it on to your friends and readers. Always appreciated.
How do you cope when life gets crazy? Do you stay calm or get frazzled? I’ve found that frazzled really doesn’t work for me so I just motor on, leaving a trail of burned food in pots, unreturned messages, and blog posts that really aren’t up to par! Do you join the ranks of the calm or the frazzled? What works for you?
Oh! A gentle reminder – If you haven’t slipped over to CJ West’s blog to leave a comment and be in the running for a $500 Amazon Gift Card, please click here and take 30 seconds to do it. We all need to take a break and be kind of crazy at times and Jillian Dodd is just the writer to get us to do it! This idea is her brainchild so let’s help her out! Then please pass the message on.
can’t wait to read all about Katherine!!
Hey Gail, I can’t wait for you to read all about her too! I just have to stop writing!!! Thanks for stopping by!xo
Ooooh, I love it when characters do that! I can’t wit to find out what Katherine did that was so surprising.
Stay calm or get frazzled? Mostly stay calm. If I get frazzled then my family tends to freak out from my reaction. Like you, I’ve found that freaking out really doesn’t solve anything and just prolongs the misery. What is that saying, “Keep Calm and Carry On”. Yep.
Now get back to writing! 😉
I knew you wouldn’t get frazzled. Ok – back to writing … Hugs!
I’m always so amazed by how the characters truly write the story. We’re just there to put fingers to the keyboard!!
It’s so true, Karen, the characters lurk in the background of our words and ideas for a little while and then take charge!
I can only hope one day I actually KNOW what it’s like to write the last chapter. *sigh* Slow going, for now. Excited to hear more about project, Patricia!
You’ll get there, Jess! *Slow going* is part of the process at times as we journey along that bumpy road to publishing. Thanks for your lovely message on Goodreads. I’ll get back to you very soon!
I cannot wait to meet Katherine in person – squeee! She sounds like a real gem…and the process of getting so lost in your writing sounds absolutely heavenly so enjoy…
Can’t wait to read about the Downsizing Divas – LOL – sounds right up my alley!
You’ll love these ladies!
Oh man, I hear you on the last chapter syndrome. The first time I did it, I just flew through it without looking at anything objectively and had to completely re-do it in the second draft because I’d been in such a hurry. 🙂
Yup – that can happen. There’s no guarantee there won’t be a re-do here too … ya never know! In the meantime, this character has thrown me right off schedule but it actually was worth the detour. Thanks for stopping by, Emmie. I just read your Scottish post and wish I could just beam you and yours over there!
I think it’s fantastic when your characters take you where they want to/need to go. It certainly happened to me–otherwise there would only have been the one book, but I found that Sophie didn’t like the ending I had planned for her and made her own (sound familiar?). I find this one of the most fascinating and rewarding experiences about writing.
Calm or frazzled? Well, now, there’s a question. I sweat the small stuff and smooth the big stuff. I get totally frazzled when there are a million small things on my plate that I can’t get on top of. However, throw a big life-changing event at me or a massive crisis, and I go into ultra-calm, collected, can-do mode. Weird, huh? Great post, Patricia, as always–no matter what you think….XX
Hey Nicky, I think it’s amazing that Sophie got a entire second book out of you! But you are so right – it’s “fascinating and rewarding”.
Calm or crazy? I work…
The bottom line is … the job gets done … one way or the other!
I had a great ending, in fact, worked toward it, wrote it, was frazzled, took a deep breath and realized that I had finished the novel at least six pages earlier. I think my characters had a deep chuckle.
I love it! There are always surprises no matter how much we imagine we are in control! Thanks for stopping by!
I’m so late…sorry! Sometimes frazzled, but more often just keep plugging away. Congrats on being so close to the end! I’m counting on my characters to help me with my ending!