Yesterday was stunning, a palette painted with brilliant blue skies, packed brown paths, and winter shadows, all soaked in the warmth of bright sunlight. My adopted parents and I hiked back in the woods to an old coal miners cabin.
It’s doing things like this that sets my mind whirling and I can almost taste a new story as it forms through everything around me. It reminds me of osmosis. At first it’s a distant thought, then a character is born, then a bit of dialogue drops down. All at once, there it is, the story floating around, begging to be written down.
Before I have fully comprehend what’s going on, I find myself walking with a different gait. I curiously touch moss-covered rocks, looking for signs. I couch behind trees and peer out the other side, sneaking up on something…or someone. I rustle through the leaves, searching for clues. I plop down on a fallen log, exhausted from days of traveling in the forest.
Names float through my mind as I try and come find one that fits the character perfectly. Settings, countries, times, and governments are flipped through in my brain much like flashcards as I try and figure out the perfect everything.
Then reality sets in. I force myself to focus for a minute. I’m knee-deep in re-writes for one book. I have the second book in a trilogy a third of the way written. I have the Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks series to keep up with on my blog. I sigh as more projects I should be doing flood into my mind.
With a grin, I shrug at myself. So, maybe now isn’t the time to tackle a new project. There’s far too much on my plate anyway and it won’t be helpful to anyone if I try to juggle more food… Especially if you imagine a bowl of soup flying through the air, the liquid making a beautiful arch before it splats all over everything. That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a bit of futile brainstorming on a beautiful day in the woods, so that’s exactly what I do.
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It’s that time again where we get to choose where Annie goes for this week in our Friday Series, Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks. And the destination is: Italy!