Imagineering

Started making notes for a new EarthGov Security story, set in late 2191/eartly 2192. I know which characters will lead the story - Special Agent Harmony Moore, her identical twin sister, Special Agent Melody Moore, and their partner, Special Agent Wesley Jensen. All three characters have been part of EGS for a while now, though only Harmony and Melody have made any appearances so far. (Their only published appearance is in On A Cold Wind, and that was essentially a cameo appearance. They do play a larger part in Broken Memories.) Wesley has been part of other stories that are in the To Be Completed pile. He's a close friend to Carly and Murphy (though not part of Carly's surrogate family...yet) and is also a devout Christian. (One of the TBC stories is centered on Wesley and his past.)

I don't have much thought out yet, just that it has something to do with a group of nomadic wanderers. I know nothing about them or why EarthGov Security would have any kind of interaction with them. Since this group is brand new, I have to do some imagineering to get their culture. I think they might all be walking around in armor though I'm not sure why.

This is a good development for me. Not that I wanted to start another story while I have so many other projects in the air. But the simple fact that I'm coming up with story ideas may mean I'm getting over whatever the hell;s been keeping me from doing any first draft writing.

We'll see how it goes.

Changing Course

There are five first draft projects that I have been working on, four shorter works - "Raven," "Stranger," "My Soul to Keep" and "Upon a Far Distant Shore," and the novel Under the Dark of the Moon. Progress had been slow but I had been moving forward on all the projects.

Until this week, that is.

I'm not really sure why but I haven't been able to do any first draft writing. I gave myself a couple of days without writing but nothing came. I'm starting to feel a bit of anxiety, like there's something I should be doing but I'm not.

So when you can't write...rewrite.

I'm turning to a project I've let languish for too long. I have a complete novel, titled Broken Memories. It concerns Special Agent Alexandra Sinclair, a courier with EarthGov Security in 2190. I completed the novel but never submitted it (probably because it's far shorter than what agents and publishers have deluded people into thinking a novel should be).

So now I'm going to be working on it while the other projects percolate in my subconscious (which is where I do all my writing). It's not really going to be easy; while the first part of the novel is more or less fine and just needs a few tweaks, the second part needs to be completely rewritten. (Fortunately, I'm a better writer now than I was all those years ago when I first completed the novel.)

Hopefully, by the time I finish Broken Memories, I'll have the other plot lines sussed out and be able to get them finished.

Discovery

I made an interesting discovery the other night. I was rummaging through some old folders and found another version of "Brianna and the Three." This was a slightly longer version of the story, including a character development scene (a call between Brianna and her cousin Stephen), and a slightly different ending. It also addresses a plot point that just drops away in the current version. I'm not certain why these scenes were removed, since they do add to the story and help round out Brianna's character. I have to make sure I keep track of this so I can put these scenes back in when I start editing later this month.