Thinker, writer, reader, detective

I look similar to this every night when I sit in front of my computer, working on my book or surfing the internet.

I'm in my own little world. Well, not so little. :)

It's more like I daydream, then think.

Sometimes it does seems to me that I over think things though.

I stare and sink into my mind and think, but then something happens and all the plans go up in smoke.

Writer. I'm a pantser but I still make outlines and plans. I just ignore them.:)  You got to be true to yourself.

I'm an avid reader. Once I start a book I usually finish it in the same day.

And being a detective. That comes with murder mysteries. You got to have a clue, in more than one way.

These four words describe what I think of myself.

How would you describe yourself?

Flames is still half-way done. The arsonist will be revealed and the chase will be on. Another fire and there will be a confrontation in the woods that will go pear-shaped. After this they're going to need a vacation--wait that's what this was suppose to be.

Wind. Still second chapter. Already introduced two suspects or are they just caught up in the murders? Is one of them the cause and the other the perp?  Is it a serial or is it purposeful?  Maybe all the above?

MVII. Second chapter. Gaea has dropped a bit of a bombshell on Jaci. There is a reason the land is seemingly recalcitrant. Jaci has to fix the problem before she can get real help, but she needs the land's help to fix it. a catch 22.

I got a new review on Earth Reader. A 5 star. Thank you.

Now if all 100 who took advantage of my free book would do the same. I'd love it.

Precis

100 people took advantage of my free book. YES!

 Hopefully, some will give me 'good' reviews on Amazon.

And go for my other books as well. They are all fast-paced and got at least 4 stars. An hour or two amusement, depending on how fast you read. I usually read books twice. The first time fast, the second time slower to make sure I get the nuances.

Flames is coming along. It's half-way done. The arsonist is about to reveal him/herself.

Wind. Into the second chapter. Cop shop talk right now. They'll head off to the club next where they'll meet one of the suspects. Or is she the reason for the murders?

MVII. Wrote out the burglary scene, but still working on chapter 2. Why is research into an old crime and disappearance so important? 

I straightened up my story folder. Now everything is in separate folders instead of all lumped in the misc. folder. There's still stuff in the Misc. folder, but I separated out the series. Looks much neater now. I wasn't working on a story so I decided to mess with the story folder. Sometimes during my 'working' time at the computer, I can't seem to focus on a story so I either mess with the bibles or create covers. But this time I decided to mess with the folders.

I was working on my stories, but not. So officially, I was working during my working hour(s). :)

The Alliance books are still knocking at the backdoor of my mind. But I need to finish Elemental Voice first. At least the next two books anyway. Then I might slip in an Alliance book.

My time-lost books have also slipped up a notch.

I got a review on Mortal Voice from Jan. 5 star. She likes this better than EV.  I hope others have the same opinion and it takes off so that the second book will have a following. EV has a small following and I'm hoping MV will have a larger one.

EV is the urban fantasy version of MV which is itself an urban fantasy. A play on a play.

Naming & Character Development

I've been asked how I come up with the 'perfect' name for my characters  and how I develop my characters.

As to the characters, I write down a list of who I need in each book, i.e. cop, bad guy, victim. Then I decide which is the ones that will interact the most with my main characters.  Those are the ones that get more development.  Most of this happens in my head, but I do put some of this in the story bible to remind me. Each character is basically developed in my head before I even start the story.

The names I choose from a baby book I have in my bookshelf near my computer. Each name gets said out loud until I happen upon the one I like best for the character.  I put the names down in the story bible next to who they are in the list (victim, bad guy, etc.)  And so they become that character.

Most of this is, as I said, done in my head,

I'm a pantser and I just write what comes to me.

Sometimes the storyline suprises even me.

I'll be writing along and suddenly the story takes a turn. I think what if this happens instead of this. And I write the new storyline and it changes the whole chapter or even the whole book. 

The 'What ifs'.

New scenes appear in my head. The characters even change a bit to fit the storyline.

All of my stories have been in my head for years so my subconscious has had time to develop these characters.  I have scenes for each and every book in my head.  The characters all have placer names like 'bad guy' for bad guys or Sara and Nick for every main character since I like those names. When I start writing that's when my characters get their names.

Names. Boys get boy names, and girls get girl names, of course. But most of the last names come from the boy section.  A lot of the time I flip through until a name catches my attention, then I build from it and deciding who it belongs to (victim or cop).  I usually have the bad guys name by the time I start writing. It usually has a meaning to it. Sort of like a spoiler. :)

Mostly by the time I'm ready to write, everything is already done in my story bible or in my head and I just sit down and write.