The true purpose of The Notepad

I've been doing a brief session every night (no more than half an hour) with me and my notepad sitting in the "video gaming chair" in my office. (No photo, last night was sorta hectic. But I'll post one soon on the Saturday Fun Pic.) For those of you unfamiliar with video gaming chairs, they're for playing video games in front of the TV. Mine is like a bean bag with a high back. Very comfy; uber cool -- and best of all, incredibly conducive to creative thought, at least for me.


I've discovered that if I'm having a problem getting a chapter or section started it's because I may know what's happening in that chapter, but I don't know why. Let me explain. I can know in my gut what's supposed to happen in a chapter, but if I don't know why my characters act the way they do, or even how they would act in the first place, then I've got a problem. Forcing my characters do something is the writer equivalent of shooting myself in the foot. It'll throw me off schedule, and potentially screw up a section of the book.

So I not only have to know what they should be doing, but why. I typically start my notepad work by stating the problem/situation. For example, Talon is running off half-cocked and doing (insert stupid & potentially fatal act here). If my gut tells me that is the right course of action for him to take, then I have to ask why is he doing it? What does he hope to accomplish? And what will be the reprecussions of him doing (insert stupid, asinine thing)?


For me, that kind of brain work is best done on a notepad. I feel more free to explore my thoughts on paper than computer, and for some reason, the ideas come a lot faster, usually complete with dialogue. Once I'm sufficiently jump-started, I move over to my desk and computer and get to work in earnest.


Tomorrow, I'll tell you about getting "The Call" from Kristin offering to represent me, and "The Email" from Kristin telling me we had a two-book contract offer on the table.


I think I may have promised to post a short snippet from The Trouble with Demons on Saturday. Since I have my root canal & gum surgery on Friday, I guess I should pre-stage this one so all I have to do is click "send." ; )

Lisa