by Janis Patterson
I am a pretty organized kind of person – where work is
concerned, that is. We won’t talk about my housekeeping. With my books,
however, I am very orderly. I try to write a fair number of words every day –
though I don’t always make it every single day. (Life just gets in the way
sometimes!) I keep to a schedule and respect deadlines. I have my books blocked
out for the next eighteen months – a gothic romance, the first book of my new
Rachel Petrie archaeological mysteries, a sweet older-heroine romance… It’s a
nice, orderly system.
Except when it isn’t. Unfortunately, creativity has no
respect for schedules and orderly systems.
I’ll explain. Last month The Husband and I took a trip to
Las Vegas. We had won it some time ago and it had come down to use it or lose
it, so of course we used it. We were put up in the Plaza, an older but nicely
refurbished hotel/casino at the end of the Fremont Experience. That’s sort of
an outdoor mall – it used to be one of the main downtown streets, but they
closed it off, put an enormous canopy over it (way over it – 6 or 8 stories!)
to keep the worst of that vicious Las Vegas sun off. I personally prefer the
funky downtown Fremont Experience to the Strip.
When we left I had just finished the final edits on the new
Flora Melkiot mystery – Murder in Death’s Waiting Room – and I had thought she
was ready to be retired for a while. After all, I was already doing prep work
on my new gothic and even had a couple of chapters written, then had started
doing some early prep work on the first book about contract archaeologist
Rachel Petrie. I also have two books ready to self-publish, and that takes a
lot of work.
Except once in Vegas ideas began pelting me like summer hail
in Texas – big and fast. Starchy, proper, elderly Flora and Las Vegas seemed
made for each other. The entire story – motive, method, murderer, MacGuffins,
clues (sorry – I couldn’t think of a word for clues beginning with ‘m’) –
spooled through my head with terrifying cohesiveness. During our wandering
around I wore a purse only big enough to hold my credit card, a hanky or two
and my phone.
You know, that could be a writer’s vision of Hell – a great
idea and no pencil or paper. However, I have adapted well to modern times, so
while The Husband fiddled with the slots, I would sit and email ideas to myself
on my phone.
It’s still a great idea, and I’ll probably write it just as
soon as I finish this current, half-written gothic which has a hard deadline.
And it works out well too, as my primary advisor for the Rachel Petrie series
has to defend her PhD thesis this summer, so we’ve agreed to start over in the
fall.
Schedules? How can they hope to stand up to inspiration?
7 comments:
Glad you found inspiration in L.V. I ended up writing several stories set in Vegas when we were there.
Funny where ideas come from and how/when/where we find inspiration isn't it.
Great post!
Good luck and God's blessings.
PamT
Very interesting post, one I can definitely relate to. My pockets are always full of scraps of papers, notes to myself with ideas for characters, possible scenes, descriptions, etc. The problem is trying to decipher these rushed scribbles later on, when I'm actually in my office. And inevitably some of them are lost in the laundry, transformed into little wads of mushed, blank paper. I think it just goes to show that even with our dedication to organization, creative writers can be struck by inspiration anywhere, anytime. So, beware and always have a pen and paper handy!
Intrigued by your forthcoming Rachel Petrie mystery series, and one I will definitely check out. I can't get enough archaeology-based mysteries.
Thank you!
Great post! Las Vegas and all the people are a wealth of ideas.
Jacqueline, isn't Las Vegas a fun town? Such a wealth of inspiration there. Funny how The Husband and I don't gamble (though we did tote up a loss of about $10 on the penny slots - not bad for four days' entertainment) and drink sparingly and still we had a marvelous time!
Pam, that's why I can't understand why some people are incredulous at how we writers get our ideas. There are ideas everywhere - though Las Vegas does seem to produce more than its share. Thanks for commenting.
Steven, I had my share of indecipherable notes and mushed up wet pieces of paper - that's why I now send myself emails though typing on my phone is tiresome. And if you like archaeological mysteries, may I suggest you check out my newest release - A KILLING AT EL KAB - The Husband and I actually got to stay at a dig house in Egypt to research it. If the gods of publishing are in a good mood, the first Rachel Petrie book should come out around the end of the year.
Marilyn, thanks for the comment and for stopping by. I agree Las Vegas is a great place - both for ideas and for fun.
Susan, AKA Janis
I'm not as organized as I would like. And yes, when inspiration strikes, it's hard for me to remember unless I write it down somewhere!
I'm afraid I'd be on a black jack table playing cards. I doubt I'd be inspired to write in Vegas. I have had the same thing happen to me though, and it's interesting how a story can come out of no where, ideas piling up on themselves.
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