Evolution

I love it when a book I sorta outlined ages ago jumps into my head, out of the blue, and demands some immediate attention.  This happened to me a couple of weeks ago, and in re-reading the synopsis, I thought, "hmmm, not half bad. Pretty interesting, actually."  From me, that's high praise. 

Pulling out a fresh notebook, I started to play with the story, and suddenly, I knew what the story needed.  A mystery.  Initially conceived as a work of women's fiction, I sensed it needed an extra kick in the rear to take it a notch higher.  The mystery element was perfect.

But how to work in a mystery in a story primarily about relationships?  Again, the solution was obvious. The structure of the mystery could undergird the relationships.  I wanted to begin writing, but life got in the way.

Yesterday, life played outside while I wrote.  A first chapter is seldom easy, but in my case, it was like finding gems in a bushel of words.  They came so quickly, I didn't even realize I'd been at my keyboard for several hours.  I love it when that happens, the first rush of meeting new friends and enemies, new places, new problems to solve.  The last chapter came to me as I was writing the first, so I have my goal.

Now if I can just keep it going!