So, last week I blogged about how my novel-writing process starts with months of thinking, and that usually the thinking starts with the main characters.

Once I have these two protagonists in my mind, even in very vague, shadowy form, what I start thinking of next are "moments".  I'm not sure why, but this seems to be how I plot a book.  I don't get big story trajectories coming to me in during all those long walks and hot showers, I get (what I've taken to calling) "moments".  Little scenes with the potential for great humor, drama, angst, suspense....or heat. 8)  Some might call them the book's turning points.

Anyway, these evolve in different ways.  Sometimes I just have a vague idea for a situation, and other times whole swaths of dialog just pop into my mind.  But they give me that "ooh, that would be soooo funny/sad/hot" feeling.   My gut tells me, I just HAVE to put that scene in the book.

I start to mentally refer to these "moments" by little one- or two-word tags.  For Goddess of the Hunt, for example, they might have been things like: orchard, wardrobe, letter, dinners, tears.  Right now, for this new book, I'm working with moments like: hay, party, piano, symmetry.  The moments are like a constellation of stars, and then the rest of the plot is a line connecting them.  By the time I finish the book, that line may change a dozen times--but the stars are pretty permanent.

Once I have this vague notion of what will happen, I start to research.  And I'll blog about that next time.

Hey, it's a new month.  I'm starting a new book.  And I thought it might be an interesting experiment, this time, to blog about my writing process (such as it is) as I go.  I'll tag them all "How I Write a Book."

I know many of you who read this blog are writers, and you each have your own process.  I certainly don't mean to suggest anyone should follow mine!  It's messy, as you'll see, and continually evolving.  But there are some people who follow this blog who may be wondering, "Just what it is Tessa's doing when she should be [returning my phone calls/addressing my Christmas card/making my dinner]?"  This is mainly for them.

Right now, I'm getting ready to start writing this book.  Which means, I'm wrapping up the work involved in preparing to write the book.  Which brings me to

My Messy Process, Step One:  Thinking.

Lots of thinking.  Lots and lots of thinking.  In the case of this book, my fourth, I've been mulling over these characters and their story for at least 8 or 9 months now, since I was in the middle of writing book two.  And beyond Spencer and Amelia (the hero and heroine's names), I currently have three other couples - wait, four - whose stories are spreading roots in my gray matter.

The thinking part of this process is the longest step, obviously.  It's also the one most often mistaken by bystanders for daydreaming, inattention, child neglect, etc.  Well, in truth, there's an element of each of those in it.

I think about the characters while I'm out for a walk, making dinner, washing dishes, taking a shower, and so on.  Becoming a professional writer has actually been some salvation for me, because I am a person who has a hard time turning off her brain.  If I weren't thinking about character histories and plot tangles, I'd be thinking about something else - something that would probably get me into trouble.    By nature, I'm inclined to endless rumination, so it's handy to have this endless supply of mental alfalfa.

The thinking usually starts with a character--in this case, it was the hero.  And then I decide on his pair--the person who is nothing he wants, but everything he needs.  In the earliest stages, they are very flat characters.  I simply start with a few personality traits that will clash spectacularly at first, but with a bit of time and affection, dovetail nicely.  For example, in this book I began with the idea that I would pair a character who is socially awkward and introverted with one for whom close relationships and hospitality are paramount.

And then the fun begins...I start to imagine all the things they could possibly argue about, all the ways in which they could find themselves at cross-purposes, and what it will take to bring them together in the end.  That's where plotting comes in.  And I guess I'll blog about that next time.

No, not one of those Wall Street banks.  I only wish I knew what to do about those.  In recent months, I've laid off the cable news channels in my house, because they seem to add little to my understanding of current events and much to my general feeling of unease.  But this week, that resolution is out the window.  It's all about AC360 right now.  And I don't mean to turn into a political blogger, but right now the uncertain state of our economy is really sapping...not my will to write, exactly, but definitely my excitement about writing.  Is anyone else out there feeling the same?

If there's one thing the pundits agree on, it's that this whole situation is far from over.  Like it or not, I had better just get used to writing through uncertain times.   So I'm going to focus on keeping my writing bank accounts healthy and robust.  You know, refilling that well of words inside.

Reading, of course, is the main way writers do this.  And as I blogged last week, I have a whole slew of new historicals calling me to my local bookstore today.  Thank heaven for happy endings.  But I realize I've neglected my non-romance reading of late, and I'm going to finally read a few other books that have been languishing on my shelves. The ones positively screaming at my from the bookcase this morning are Suite Francaise and March - both of which deal with moral ambiguity and personal responsibility during times of upheaval and war...hmmm.  I sense a trend.

Then I've signed up for a few daily email services.  A Word A Day, to build that vocab, and one that sends me a daily classic poem.  I adore poetry, and I don't read enough of it.  Critically reading a poem, for me, is like a gym workout.  There's this initial hurdle of effort that holds me back, for sheer laziness.  But when I do make the effort, I come away from it so energized, I wonder why it is I can't be arsed to make it a daily habit.  And poems don't require a change of clothes, or gym membership.  So a poem a day it is.

What do you do to refill your writer's bank of words and inspiration?

And

Happy New Year to those celebrating the Jewish high holidays!