Battling the Pen

Nope. Not that.

I have a pen

It's these blasted ideas

They keep popping up at the most inopportune moments

Thoughts crashing into each other, leaving me exhausted in the morning

Thoughts I can't fight, leaving my plans in the dust

Characters, plots, settings

Plots, characters, settings

Dialogue, endings

Leave a clue or not?

Add a nefarious character?

Add a hero?

Make the main character stumble?

Make them fail?

How I'd love to have a tragic ending and off the good guy

What if I decide on a sequel? That won't do

Then comes the next story idea and the next

My editor throws her red pen into the air and screams

"Where are you getting these from?"

"Dreams, baby. Dreams. Horrible, awful, mind-boggling, bloody dreams."

This, my loves, is how books are born in the mind of a crazed writer

They don't come neatly packaged with outlines and bows

They come in waves of insane thoughts and disconnected themes

They ramble through the night sky, leaving me to pick up the pieces in the morning

Pieces that need work

Lots of work

It is the kind of work that I love the best

and if you love your work you will never have to labor a day in your life