So, I’m walking up the stairs to my office and suddenly, out of nowhere, the name, background and general look of a character for a totally new story just drop right into my head.
WTF? Where did that come from? I’m in the dreaded and particularly saggy middle of one story and in some intense edits for another. Do I really need this woman knocking on my brain? “Oh hai, I’m a character with a very emotional backstory for–get this–a murder/thriller mystery novel. Get to work on me instead.”
I did about 500 words, realized I had a potential book in it, and put it aside. I can’t be having that much project ADD, damn it. But I suspect she’ll be there when I’m ready. I have another one, too, on ice, waiting for me to work on her story. Poor ladies, I often wonder if they sit around in the back of my head and wait for their story to continue.
Writing ADHD. Cure? Some kind of self bribery, I expect.
OH, I also figured out where my tendency to clip sentences comes from. Jonathan Kellerman does the same thing, just drops you in the middle of a sentence, very stream of consciousness and clipped. Lots of frags. I suppose he makes a living on it but the rest of us have to remember to have an object AND a subject. Whatever. But now I know where I picked up the habit!
