I am in the midst of very nice burst of productivity. That is to say, that I hope that I am in the middle of this burst of productivity. It would a complete and total bummer of the highest and most epic proportions to find myself at the end of this burst of productivity. I have written the story that I put on the site a few days ago. I liked that one, that topic at least, because it does relate to one of the novels I am working on. This would be L O L, although I am considering the name A S L like the story, or maybe some other type of computer or internet or chat room sort of lingo. None of these characters or exact scenes will appear in the novel, at least not in the version that I have started and that is in my head now and in the outline that I have worked on a little bit by now. But I think that that scene or that type of scene may appear in the novel at some point or in same manner. This is one my little strategies for the whole Na No Wri Mo short story writing thing. To write short stories, whenever possible, that relate in one way or another to one novel or another that I am working on. I need to keep in my mind that fact that I am a prospective novelist, not a prospective short story writer. Even the "short story" that I am having published this year is not really a short story, but a novel excerpt. And this was a short story that relates in topic matter and feel and situation to the novel . . . or at least to one novel. And it is a publishing opportunity, too, so that is an added benefit. It is practice, it is a possible source of much needed clips to set up myself as publishable for an agent to look at me and consider me and certainly for a publisher of novels to be willing to take a second look at me.

Other work I have done the last few days is a scene of my novel "Country Church," which was important. As always, I do my first draft of writing on note cards, so I do not have anything to put in this blog yet. That will happen when I am ready to trascribe my work onto the computer, which is not yet ready yet. I need to get back into C C as a novel, and get my head back around where it is supposed to be and get it updated and then do a little work getting the next ten scenes or so outlined, so I can get it back on track. I need to do a little review of who lived where and where the story takes place and is the college THERE and did the Atholtons live in that town or did they just move to the town. Based on thinking about whe the characters are based on, I think I know the answer, but I want to check that out because it makes a bit of a difference on that scene. I know that I should just ignore this and get on with the writing of this and not worry about every little detail and then worry about all of those little things afterwards in the revision phase. But I can not get to that place in my own mind yet, so I have to do what I do, and do it the way I have to do it. I have no other choice but to be me and write in my style. At least until I work myself into that kind of habit. I am not there yet, but maybe I will get there, and if I do not, I will do it my way.

But the stories and the novel and thinking about revising others and doing a number of other projects here and there have gotten me so psyched. I am really excited about where I am no in my writing, and hope to be sharing some of this with this blog A S A P. I think this is going to be the start of something good for me. Maybe it is just that is pretty much six months from the end of the last Na No Wri Mo and only six months away from the start of the next Na No Wri Mo, maybe this is just the next natural step in the ebb and flow of creativity. If it is, I need to get into the practice and habit of taking advantage of those moments, and surfing the creativity wave, the burst. But I know that it is not at all something that just comes upon one, it is something that one can help gin up, as it were. My muse is an odd thing, in that she rarely comes upon m eunbidden, just at her own whim. She comes when I start writing. I start in the natural, and end up in the spiritual. I start uninspired, and in the midst of writing uninspired words, inspiration comes. There is a lot about creativity that eludes me, and much that I have no hope of ever "getting," I understand that, but I like experiencing it, and I even like reflecting upon it. But the best moments are those when it just happens, when opportunity meets preparation meets inspiration. That is when my best writing occurs. I have always been fascinated by creatvity and creative people, and have always ben intrigued by the how and when and where of their work. Maybe I have taken solace in the fact that all creative people are different and that all have their own ways of working. If there is no one right way, there are probably no wrong ways, too. Therefore . . . my way must not be wrong.