When a New Story Won’t Leave You Alone
You know that feeling when you’re trying to be a responsible, organized adult? As an author that might mean a to-do list a mile long, graphics to create for Instagram, and laundry that’s been giving you the stink eye from the corner? Yeah, I was having one of those days yesterday.
I’d just finished one book and edited another. My desk was finally clear, my calendar organized, and I had every intention of catching up on all those boring-but-necessary tasks that pile up while you’re deep in a story world. I even had a plan for the day mapped out in my head.
But then there’s this thing that happens to me in that delicious half-asleep state when I first wake up. It’s like my brain is still soft and malleable, open to all sorts of creative possibilities. Usually, I direct my thoughts toward the practical stuff – what needs to be done, which emails to tackle first, whether Phoebe’s going to demand an extra-long walk because she’s been particularly adorable lately.
Except yesterday, my thoughts had other plans entirely.
Instead of focusing on my responsible adult agenda, they kept drifting to something called Startup Fire. Now, I’d committed to write a book for this shared series back in January – you can check it out here. I had this rough but enticing idea bouncing around in my head, but it was supposed to stay there, quietly behaving itself until I had time to properly deal with it.
Stories, apparently, don’t always cooperate with our schedules.
By the time I dragged myself out of bed, this stubborn story had outlined itself. Not just a few scattered ideas, mind you – we’re talking a surprisingly concrete, halfway-complete outline that had materialized while I was supposedly planning my day.
So what’s a girl to do? I grabbed my breakfast – yogurt with fruit and tea – and a notepad, and I let the story have its way. Eight pages later, I’d scribbled down everything this persistent little tale was demanding I pay attention to. Longhand, because inspiration works only the old-fashioned way.
After breakfast and Phoebe’s walk (she was, in fact, particularly adorable and got her extra-long walk), I typed up all those handwritten notes into a fresh document titled “startup fire.odt.” Reading through it with my critical author brain engaged, I could see there were a few gaps in the outline that needed filling. But honestly? Nothing major. The kind of holes that are easily fixable once you know where they are.
Now, here’s where I proved I really am a good, responsible author: I closed that document and got back to the boring stuff. I created those Instagram graphics. I did the laundry. I tackled some of the administrative tasks that keep an author’s career running smoothly.
But here’s the thing about stories that won’t leave you alone – they really, truly won’t leave you alone.
While I was folding clothes, that outline was playing on an endless loop in my mind. While I was designing graphics, my brain was busy plugging those holes I’d identified. It was like having a favorite song stuck in your head, except instead of humming a melody, I was mentally weaving together character motivations and plot threads.
By weekend’s end, I’ll have caught up on everything that needs catching up on. And come Monday? I’m diving into Startup Fire, because sometimes when a story knocks that insistently, you have to answer the door.
My next step is making sure this outline is rock-solid – kind of like creating a strong, reliable fishing net where every loop represents a scene. Once I’ve got that framework secure, writing the actual book becomes like making a blanket from that net, filling in all the spaces with the rich details and emotional moments that bring the story to life.
Both of my main characters are firefighters in Elken Grove, which means we’re staying in familiar territory while exploring new ground. There’s something satisfying about expanding a world you love, adding new corners and new hearts to discover.
The best part? This process reminds me why I love writing romance in the first place. It’s that magical moment when characters start insisting on their own stories, when fictional people become so real in your mind that they won’t let you ignore them.
So that book that started nudging me? It’s won. Monday morning, I’ll be back at my desk, not with a to-do list of administrative tasks, but with a story that’s finally going to get the attention it’s been demanding.
I love how stories can grab hold of us – whether we’re writing them or reading them. What book refused to let you go? I’m talking about those stories that kept sneaking into your thoughts long after you’d finished the last page, the ones that made you think about the characters like they were real people you’d met and might run into again someday.