Well, the editing for my previous project is done, at least from my end. The editor still has to make small changes, bit as far as I'm concerned, it's over and done with. And when that happens, it's time to start a new project.
For me, as a writer, this is probably the most grueling part of the entire process. If I'm at the beginning, the very beginning, it means I don't have any idea what I'm writing about. Where do I start? What is my story? Who are the characters? Why am I doing this? It's very frustrating. Having to start all over again.
But this is part of being a writer, the finishing and moving on. I get that. But the moving on bit...having to get my head out of the previous novel and in to the next one, usually overnight, isn't easy.
Especially when I'm switching genres, as I frequently do. I have several pseudonyms, and I have to publish at least one book a year under each pseudonym. That's a lot of switching. It's exhausting and more than a little confusing. Sometimes I can't even remember what genre I'm supposed to be in.
It would be great if I could take a few days to find my bearings, but I don't have that luxury. I make a living writing books, but that means I actually have to write. I can't take a week off between projects. I simply can't. I have to move from one project to another as seamlessly as possible.
Which means getting an idea sooner rather than later. I sometimes feel a little desperate, and that leads to some rather ridiculous ideas. Like the cat and the monkey...never mind. That one is not only silly, but it's not even in a genre I write in. How about the young girl who is betrothed...nope. That's a book I read last weekend. Mustn't plagiarize.
I go through dozens of ideas, most of them not at all useful. Then I get a hold of myself. I remember that I'm a writer, and I've done this before, and I'm only allowed to freak out for an hour. Once I lose my mind for a little while, I'm miraculously able to find it again.
And when I do, the ideas falls from the sky, land in my brain, and make their way out my fingers.
What a relief.
