Mystery Writers Need Plot, too!

Are you nuts?

Leave a fire roaring, dog snoring, husband chatting, and a pot of soup bubbling for the long walk down a cold hallway in the dark and all alone to a quiet and still room filled with expectations and uncertainty??? Lately, so goes the lament from many of the writers I work with on an on-going basis.

Everyone seems slow to jump into the writing life this year. Rather, self-doubts, and threats of going back and starting again, fear and uncertainty hold us back.

The drama keeps us engaged with our writing, or so we think. Actually, the drama of self-doubt separates us from the work. Granted writing a mystery or a romance, a screenplay or a memoir, or any other creative endeavor demands more from us than we sometimes believe we're up for. By concentrating on ourselves and our own vulnerabilities as writers, we skim the surface of the writing life and lose our focus of the work itself.

Yes, writing and finishing are about us finding time, strength, determination and persistence. Dig a bit deeper and you'll find the story waiting.

Create a writing ritual:
Light a candle and ask to be shown the way.
Play your favorite music and ask to be filled with creative energy.
Turn on a water fountain and ask to live in the flow.

It is not to be in the know... It's to be in the mystery.

Believe and Receive.

Give your fears to your characters, put your head down, and keep going.

The story awaits.

Happy New Year!

The private plot consultations resume next week. Until I have a chance to write a new plot post, please read my comments below. I'd enjoy your impressions.