So, That Happened

I didn’t spend the early pandemic months of 2020 making sourdough bread, learning a new language, or writing a novel. We’d move to Texas a measly 9 months prior. We were still trying to settle in, considering if we wanted to buy a home, and figuring out future plans. My sons–who I homeschool–were completing their 11th and 8th grade years. I was plenty busy.

Also, I’ve been “writing” a novel for the past 9 years. I didn’t need a pandemic to spur me forward. If anything, the social and emotional upheaval of the pandemic only exacerbated my writer’s block on “Asylum”.

Then, one Fall evening, I pulled out an old fan-fiction story I’d written.  The bones of the story were great: humor, action, romance, conflict–they were all there.  I remembered how much fun I had writing the story. It had always been well received. I decided to tinker with it, just as a writing exercise.

I didn’t mean to create a new series. I had not intended to actually publish my block-breaking-exercise. But, I found myself taking that base storyline and creating new characters and a deeper, more meaningful story. The words poured from me.
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Some nights I wrote 1,000 words. Those nights the descriptions and prose had to be dragged kicking and screaming onto the screen.  Other nights I wrote 7,000 words. On those nights, the dialogue and action sequences exploded from my brain faster than my fingers could type. (So. Many. Typos!)

In January, I had a rough outline and a few character sheets. By April, I had 80,000 words.

Now, after months of revisions, beta-reading, and editing, I’m ready for the world to meet the characters of “The Sentinels: Requital”.