Sometimes I feel like my books write me, rather than the other way around. That’s why it’s so hard to say it’s done. But it’s done. Music-inspired Christmas book is finished. And I’m a different person from who I was when I started writing it at the end of January.
This book baby has been a particular turning point. It has a well-paced romance at the heart of it, two beautiful character arcs that are so full of joy, two minor characters who have their ups and downs and three themes that weave in and out of the action and knit everything together. I’m so proud of it.
I had a ten-page plan at the beginning and it only needed minor changes as I wrote, so I am a convinced planner, now. There is still a lot of spontanaeity, especially with the way the themes pop up, but knowing the precise shape of it from the beginning helped to purposefully craft and structure the novel. I’ve spend the past three months so excited.
The controversial advice is to write what you know, and I’ve both done that and stepped wildly out into my imagination with this book. It’s both absurdly far from my life and very close to my passions, so it’s been a joy to bundle it up into a creative work. One way or another I will bring this book baby into the world and try to hang onto the excitement!
Leonie Mack 