Morning Light

Early morning is my favorite time of day. This is new for me; I used to be a night person. I am indebted to the puglet for straightening out my circadian rhythm. He gets me out of bed bright and early each day. I feel so much better now that I am on a better sleep-wake cycle. And, I love the morning: I get to see my husband before he leaves for work. I get to see the sunrise. My house is quiet and my head is clear. I can get a lot of little things done quickly right at the start of the day. The sunlight slants through the house in a golden glowing kind of way. I feel close to God in the morning.

The day ahead:

• lessons and books
• finish knitting pom pom peds (show and tell tomorrow)
• laundry
• wash front windows
• walk in the woods around the pond
• vaccum downstairs
• finish reading The Red Garden, by Alice Hoffman
• telephone Annie this afternoon
• jot down notes for new story
• make a pot of soup for supper

Yesterday while cooking the evening meal, an idea for a new story came to me in a rush. It is about the brother of the hero in my current writing project (the first draft of which is nearly finished. I've been working on this project since March and expect that it will take me until next March to revise, edit, and polish). I am so excited about this new story idea! I have a plan to write four novels that are tied together around a central element. The first three stories are about the siblings in a 19th century family. The last one will be a contemporary story about one of the family's modern relatives.

I've been tossing around ideas for the second story for a couple of months now, but haven't really felt the "magic". Yesterday everything fell into place: the characters came to life; I have their names, their motives; I have a good mystery, and a setting. Yippee!  I am jotting down notes and details, and I have some research to do, but with luck I will be ready to begin writing the first draft this spring :- ).

It makes me happy just to think about having a shiny new writing project. <3

Some writers describe their process in agonized, melancholy tones: they don't write because it's fun, they write because they have to (or so they say). But, I don't really get it.  I mean, most people who write aren't getting paid, and life is short and painful enough--it doesn't make sense to spend your free time doing something you don't enjoy.

I write because I love it.