Amusing the Muses

I am hoping I won't jinx myself, but so far I'm cruising right along with my novel. Sometimes I stare at the page for a while wondering what mindless drivel will end up on the paper. Yet several days in a row now, I've been thrown a tidbit by the Writerly Muses. And with each delightful morsel, I find myself eagerly flipping pages as my pencils whittle down to mere nubs. (Good thing I have a steady supply from last Christmas in my office.)

More than once my characters have surprised me or new characters suddenly push their way into my story. One character picked an occupation that I never expected (or even knew existed until it appeared on my paper). Another character blurted out something at a family dinner that sent shockwaves...both through the other characters and within my writing. And then, just as I thought my Writerly Muses had deserted me, they dangled a carrot in front of my proverbial writing donkey and voilà! I was off again.

I took a chance on NanoWriMo this year, starting with only snapshots of scenes and no real direction. I don't think writing this freely will work every time, but it certainly does have a sense of liberation. There are certainly moments that will have to be cut or drastically altered in my rewrites, but for now, I'm excited that this might actually turn into a novel. I'll try not to hold my breath, but between you and me, Dear Reader, I'm excited!!!