Tell Me a Story

     This year starts a new chapter, (pun intended) in my life. I entered this year as a soon-to-be published author. I am just starting the process and I have no idea what to expect but I'm excited for the possibilities.
 
     I have always had a vivid imagination. As a little girl, I was always creating stories with my dolls. In school I enjoyed my English class because many of my assignments involved writing. I didn't like the grammar part so much but, who does? Let's move on.

    When I hit my teenage years my creativity was expressed through writing lyrics and songs and as an adult I wrote skits and plays.

    As of last year I started writing romance novels and low and behold my brain opened up with character after character telling me their story.

     I say that because of the way I write. My stories come out of nowhere and everywhere. There are bits and pieces of my life enter twined with ideas that are purely imagination. Where do the characters come from? Sometimes they are completely fabricated from my imagination. Sometimes they are someone I've met somewhere in my life. Once I have the characters formed and the outline of the story is in place, the characters guide me from one scene to the next. Sometimes the characters take me through scenes so fast I don't know if I can type fast enough.
   
     I tell people it's like watching a movie. The scenes are vivid. I can see the location. I know what the weather is like and whether it's in the city or country. All the senses get involved. If I have trouble with the visual, I get on the Internet and search until I find it. 

     I truly enjoy the art of writing, because for me, I am honestly as surprised when it's done as the reader would be. My stories never turn out exactly like I had initially planned. There are twists and turns and unexpected parts that I never even dreamed of until they happen to show up in my imagination ready to be added to the story.

     So, what happens now that I've written a novel? I really don't know. So far, I have had to figure out what I want the cover to look like and what the short synopsis should say in order to pull the reader in so they buy the book. The next step is editing to make sure the story isn't littered with grammatical errors. Again, that part of my English classes wasn't my favorite. From there...well, I guess we shall see.