When the WIP takes over...

Okay, I know today is thursday. For those of you who were expecting a book review...well...there isn't one. Not today, and maybe not next week, either. :(

Some of you may have noticed that I've been kind of MIA. Not responding to comments on my blog, not visiting other blogs, hardly replying to email, etc. And for that, I'm truly sorry!

But there's a good reason. A really good reason. For me, anyway. :)

I've mentioned this before, but I'm working on a middle grade novel that's been in the works for about seven years. It's a huge project, and I won't be able to fit it into one book. I've taken it apart and put it together so many ways that my head went spinning whenever I thought of it. So I'd set it aside in order to work on something else, then pick it back up, then set it aside, pick it back up, etc. I just couldn't figure it out, but I did NOT want to give up on it. So I made a special place on the shelf, where I could take it down often and see if it was ready to be written.

A few months ago, the whole thing just clicked into place. It was weird, almost like magic. One minute I'm scratching my head, and then next I'm overwhelmed with this huge, manymanymany layered story putting itself together! It's like the story had been simmering in my head for so long, kind of like a seven-year pot roast :), that it all just clicked into place. And now it's coming out so fast that I can hardly keep up! :)

It's wonderful and terrifying at the same time. :)

I spent days writing out the plan, then laid it all out on my floor. And it took up the entire floor. :) Once I'd done that, the whole thing felt ready - really, really ready - to finally be written.

I've been working on this since May, and I'm almost finished with the first draft! *happy dance* Just a few more chapters...if I don't finish them this week, it'll definitely be next week. The story has consumed me these past few months, and I haven't come up for air except for my family. It's absolutely wonderful!

Once this first draft is complete, I already know what I need to do on the next pass. After that, it'll be in the hands of my critique group, and I will question them mercilessly on what's working and what isn't, and then I'll go through it again.

I've never felt this way about a manuscript before. Not so consumed, anyway. I've written stories that wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it, but this is different. I've never written anything so quickly. Then again, it's not like I just thought of it a few months ago, either... :)

If you've got a story that's driving you crazy, just put it away for a bit. You never know what will come of it...but I truly hope it doesn't take seven years! :)

Okay. This is all the time that my brain is willing to spend away from my story. I'm going to write now! :)