Book writing is hard work

A reminder about my booksigning next week:

Tuesday, September 9 at 7:00 PM

Barnes & Noble

Cary Commons
760 SE Maynard Rd.
Cary, NC 27511

I'll be doing a booksigning/discussion with acclaimed fantasy author James Maxey, and award-winning Sci/Fi author Mark L. Van Name. This Barnes & Noble is an awesome location for a booksigning; James and I had a blast last time we were there. If you're in the area on that date, bring your questions and join us for what promises to be a fun-filled evening!

Now back to our regularly scheduled blog -- For those of you who think writers think of a story, then sit down and cruise through that first draft, you're ever so slightly mistaken. In fact, you're downright wrong. For me, and for many writers, writing that first draft is like squeezing blood out of a rock. It's difficult to get started, the middle is a quagmire, and the endings are a bear. Let's face it, writing is hard work. Is there a part of a book that I don't have difficulty with, that doesn't give me fits? Apparently not. But I love it, or I wouldn't do it. I'm a sick girl, aren't I? ; )

I know I have to have a solid first draft to get to the part where I have the most fun -- the rewrites. (Yeah, I enjoy rewrites. I'm sick that way, too. It's the editor in me.) The first draft is for getting the story down. Everything after that is weaving in the magic and bringing it to life. Now that's what I call fun. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of the "joy of discovery" in those first drafts -- when the story goes off in an unexpected (and completely cool) direction, when a new character suddenly makes an entrance, or when an established character does something completely out of character (and it not only works, but rocks).

Coming up tomorrow: I'm having a lunch meeting today, and hopefully I can announce a surprise from that. I'll also talk about procrastination.

Coming up on Friday: How writing a book is the ultimate mind puzzle.

Lisa