Aren’t they pretty? The new graphic I’ve made for them groups them together in order within their series, although I didn’t write them in the order they appear.
It’s funny how that happens. Characters have a mind of their own, and the creativity doesn’t always come in any type of lockstep order.
As far as I’m concerned, that’s a good thing!
Ayanna’s book was the first. She’s the character who knows each of the other heroines. They all show up as minor characters in her book. Ayanna then becomes a minor character in Suzette’s and Natasha’s.
Helena’s book came before Natasha’s, even though I wrote Natasha’s first.
So what’s new in the writing life? One of my critique groups wants to meet more often in order to encourage us to write more intensely. Beyond that, we’ve noticed that when we have a month in between meetings, we tend to forget what happened in the previous month.
This strategy would be helpful to one of our members who is under contract to submit a full manuscript by sometime early next year. Writing is a long haul project. If we read more frequently, she would get the assessments she needs before she submits.
As for me, all I need for an intense writing project is the completion of a manuscript. Completing a project creates the space for new creative energies. That space has opened up, now that Helena is out in the world and I’m revising the current work in progress with the critique groups.
Now that I’m gearing up to write a new manuscript, I spent time on the recent work in progress trying to revise the submissions for the next few months. Man was it tedious! Writing deep point of view can be a struggle.
I just started the new manuscript today. The first of the month seemed to be a good day to start writing. I’d been thinking for weeks about an opening scene. So today was the day. I have plenty of notes, so it’s now time to get going.
What else do I need? More funds for a writer’s expense account and royalties that I can contribute towards my writer’s retirement account then deduct at tax time.
Have a great month!
Copyright Barbara James. All rights reserved.
Barbara James 