Just write a good story

I had to wait for prescriptions to be filled. It would be a little while. AI strolled through Rite Aid, and ended up in the same place that I always end up: the writing supply aisle. I found a top spiral notebook about the size of a steno pad, but the paper is like a legal pad. It cost over $3 and I didn't want to spend that much on a notebook! But I really liked it. It was the perfect size to carry around with me.

I resisted...walked away. It was the perfect size for the firwst draft of a novel. I had to have it. I paid the price. I went to wait at the pharmacy and began to write.

I had decided to begin yet another novel, not because I wanted another novel, but to put into practice some of the things I had learned through discussions at my online writer groups. The beauty of this particular novel is that I carry it with me and write longhand every spare minute. When the action slows I do as author Carolyn Garriott suggested. Stop...and think about where the story needs to go next. Garriott, author of Shadow of the Cross, set out to "just tell a good story.

My good friend, travel writer and fiction writer, Maureen Creager, has always been an encourager. I went to great lengths to chart out one of my novels in an effort to try and get control of it. I couldn't wait to show her. She said it was impressive. But when I got home, there was an e-mail waiting for me. Maureen advised, "Very nice. Now, put the chart away and just write a good story."

So I carry this yellow, top spiral notebook everywhere I go. I'm letting Isabella, Daniel and Micah tell the story. When the action slows I do what romance author Shirley Jump does: Throw another elephant into the middle of the room.

I like to write longhand so I bought a lap desk. I carry it with me all over the place. My goal is a novel in 2007. If I'm going to write 100 novels before I die, I have to get busy making tracks.

NOVEL OR BUST!!!