As a pantser—someone who doesn’t plan my plots ahead of time (plotting by the seat of my pants)—it’s always with relief and dread that I see the end coming. Because the closer I get to the end, the closer I am to the black hole. The black hole is the void between books. As a rule, I can go right into the next one, provided the characters in my head are as vocal (if not as pushy) as Joey and Aaron. Usually when I’m a month or so away from an ending I have other characters who’ve been locked in a cage screaming to get out. (My mind is clearly a very scary place: cages, black holes,
There are a bunch of characters I’ve stored away to play with next, but none of them have started screaming yet. It may be that Aaron and Joey are just too strong right now to let anyone else have his say, but what if I am teetering on the brink of that black hole?
I don’t like being in there. I don’t like myself when I’m in there. I need characters to show me scenes as I drift off to sleep. (Thanks for that last sex scene, Joey. Talk about sweet dreams). I need words bursting out of my head so that I’m scribbling in my notebook at any point in the day. I need a reason for the times when I get caught talking aloud to myself—“I’m working out a plot point, thanks.” Of course, these days I may as well be talking on my Bluetooth as on a daypass, so maybe I won’t get carted off.
In an effort to stay out of the sucking void, I’m sending out a call to my muse, to Caleb and Wes and Tony and Jack and Ethan and Dev: C’mon, who wants it? You could be center stage in just three short weeks. I’ve got the keys, and I’m coming to let you out. Please, guys. I don’t want to go in the black hole.
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5 comments:
::tosses a really long rope::
Good luck!
[whisper]If you ask me, Dev was talking loudest during roll-call.[/whisper]
I, personally, would like to see the rest of Jeff & Ryan's story. Gotta admit I was pissed at you for making that one so short. :P
Who are the other guys?
I'm so sorry, Jen. I started writing Jeff and Ryan's story the minute I heard about the Samhain anthology. "You mean I can get paid for m/m?" I said. Then they were 5K over the limit so they had to get cut down. I should write a free sequel to put on my website. Maybe that's what I'll do to stay out of the hole.
Caleb and Wes are characters who haven't made it outside my brain yet. Ethan and Dev were in a short story that I'm thinking of expanding to at least novella length. And Tony and Jack are secondary characters in my book that comes out on August 12.
Maia,
Oddly enough, it's Dev and Ethan's story that I had planned to write next. They just haven't been yelling too loudly yet.
Thanks for reading, guys.
Wellll...I suppose I can be upset with Samhain then, and not you. :P And yes, a continuation of their story would be wonderful! I'm a sucker for hot cars and sexy men. :) (I'm obviously somewhat of a PITA as well. Just ask Ally. I'll work on that. LOL)
Well, I'm the one who came up with the characters and the story who wouldn't confine themselves to a word count. As my father says, "Give her an unlimited budget and she exceeds it immediately." That's true of me and word counts, too.
That was my first muscle car story. It was fun. My brother-in-law helped me with the car details. He does all my car details. He's like a car encyclopedia. When I needed a car for Cade in Hot Ticket I said, "J, I need a car that will break down like this and it should be about twenty years old." Instant answer: "Plymouth Acura, electric fuel pump."
I don't find you a PITA at all. I'm thrilled that someone is interested. When I'm not writing my characters, I think I'm excruciatingly boring.
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