Thursday, October 28, 2010

Dinosaur, stomping along

(Expect a lot of dinosaur-related jokes in the next week or so, since it's the codename of my newest book and I'm aiming to wrap up its planning by next week. I apologize in advance. :)

From a weird little concept question of "I've created my masterpiece [which is how I feel about "Planning to Live"], so what do I do now?", the Dinosaur has become a pretty solid plot line. There's one spot where I know what will happen but haven't yet figured out why, but I'll get it soon.

Did that sound weird? It does, right? But it's how it often feels, and with Dinosaur it's a near-daily occurrence. When I feel that way, it's like on some level I know how the book is going to go. I just feel it. I actually feel more like I am recording what's already happened than making something up. Any attempt to go a different direction makes me feel uncomfortable and nervous, and I have to swing back to what my whole body knows is right.

At the moment, though, the build-up to it isn't there. But it will come, because it always does, and then I'll be done planning Dinosaur!

Upcoming tasks:
  • finish Dinosaur's planning (goal: 1st week of November)
  • edit Blueberry for the last time (goal: 2nd week of December) and prepare it for release in January!
  • release Blueberry
  • work on Cookie in second draft

Bouncing from book to book can be weird but I think it's also good for me - keeps me from feeling like I have only one book in me. At the moment I have three, all jostling for position. The inside of my head is a strange and scary place. :)

I am not doing NaNoWriMo since it doesn't fit my schedule, but I AM going to do NaBloPoMo, a blog post a day in November. If there's anything you'd specifically like me to write about (or anything you'd like me to shut up about :) let me know!

The other thing I'd love if you'd let me know: what kind of author promotion encourages you to buy a book? Guest posts on various topics? Lots of reviews on a variety of blogs? Contests? I'm already thinking of Blueberry's release and how I'd like to promote it differently from "Planning to Live", so your suggestions will be much appreciated!

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