Typo alert! Not 'right' but 'write'. Touchscreen, eh! 🙄

Well, my brain (or maybe it's my muse?) is always teasing me, especially when I'm indecisive about a plot, characters or whatever it is that's frustrating me when I'm writing. For instance, I changed the ending of my third novel (it's part of a series) five times, because it didn't 'feel' right. So I played around with it for a while until my 'muse' said, 'Now you have it!' As writers, we all have our own way of doing things, as well as going through our phases of self doubt. And, of course, sometimes life gets in the way, too. But, after reading your post, here, it lifted me, because I could relate to what you had to say, as regards to 'how' you right, and how you deal with those niggling issues, working on them until they 'feel' right. I feel encouraged by it, as this is how I also approach my writing. So, thank you. (I'll raise a dram to you when I'm in Edinburgh next week 🥃💙).

LOL. I have weird dreams too. But the books come to me like little movie clips and I just type fast to keep up with them.

Hi, Diana, this is Sue of the Archives of Outlandish Voices. You may recall me sending you my translation of Catullus I,5, way back when our List was on One List or eGroups. I'm sending the site you shared with OV to my son. He's a creative director (no prefix!) for a pharmaceutical adv company, but has finally begun to write again. I know he will love what you wrote. Thank you.

“Good characters have lives, not scenes.”
I think I will hang that on the wall above my desk. SO important to remember!

My first novel (under my pen name) has been quite successful. It was so validating to get it out to the world and then have people request more. When they ask me how to do it, I always tell them to find and accept their style, tell the story they’d love to read, listen to their characters (yes, I talk to mine), enjoy the process, seek constructive criticism from successful writers, and give themselves some grace. It takes time. Good characters have lives, not scenes, and often need time to marinate before their story can be fully told. You are their therapist. They’ll share things as you become comfortable with each other and build trust.

That analogy! LOL It's a keeper motivational quote.

Well, not dreams --I never dream about stuff I'm writing (and what I do dream about ranges from bizarre to boring-but-weird). Otherwise, though, yeah.

I don't write in drafts. I write something I can "see"--and then I fiddle with that sentence, while the back of my mind is kicking up compost and asking questions (What time of day is it? Where is the light falling? Is there someone else in the room--who IS that...?, etc., etc., etc.... And I continue to write and fiddle and move things around until either the scene is done, or the sun is coming up and it's time for bed.