Post 2 of 2

      I haven't been talking about writing much lately. That doesn't mean I'm not writing. Darkness, Oklahoma continues to consume my writing time with Murder at the Witch's Cottage a close second. Both aren't really at a stage where I can talk much about them. I'm in a place where the characters really matter to me. They're mine in a way that's hard to explain. I don't want to lose that yet. Right now they belong to me, and I need to hold them close as we work out their story and how it ends and how it changes them and their world. Eventually I will be so sick to them that I will be forcing them on total strangers, but not yet. I'm not sure I ever really finish a book. I just sick of working on it, and so I end it and move on to the next obsession.
      Another reason to keep mum is that talking about the events in the book and in the play lessens my desire to write them. Part of the reason I write is to tell a story. Once I've told it to someone, then that impulse is somewhat satisfied. I've always wondered how many books have died in writing groups because the authors told their stories and those tellings defused their writing desire. Obviously some people flourish in a writing groups. I'm not one of them. Besides, when I share a piece of writing, I actually just want someone to praise it and tell me that I'm on the right track. I'm shallow. Happy, though.
      So, yes, I'm writing. I'm hoping to finish Darkness, Oklahoma before November. (National Novel Writing Month is in November, remember?) Murder at the Witch's Cottage has to be finished by the first of October when we go into rehearsal. Deadlines, gotta love them.
      But I will be posting excerpts later this month. I have a couple of scenes that are fairly contained and won't confuse a reader too much without having read the whole book. Just remember that I'm looking for praise, and we'll get along fine.
      There's a lot to be said for the shallow end.