As most entrepreneurs will tell you, coming up with the idea is the most fun part of any project. Then the hard work starts: the long hours, the focus, the determination, the loss of confidence, the frustration, the sweat, the renewal of hope, and finally, finally the completion of the dream.
I started writing my second book two months ago. The getting-to-know-my-characters phase was enthralling and I spurted words faster than the Niagara Falls spray water. By week three, I started losing steam because the story was becoming more complex. More characters were introduced and the true world building had truly begun.
Since I haven’t introduced my new project, here is a brief description of it:
Nineteen-year-old identical twins, Aster and Ivy, find themselves locked up: one in an Indianapolis prison for a crime she claims was self-defense, and the other in the Metropolitan Museum to compete in a televised art competition. With no way of communicating, they begin to learn secrets about one another through the media frenzy surrounding them, secrets that threaten to shatter their unbreakable bond.
THE MASTERPIECERS (working title) is a psychological ride into the depths of sisterhood, of hope, of deception, and crushed dreams. Like GHOSTBOY, it is rife with emotion; unlike GHOSTBOY, the story twists and turns.
I shaped GHOSTBOY as the story unfolded. I didn’t have a clear picture of the ending until I came to the end. In the case of THE MASTERPIECERS, I had to shape the plot at the beginning, because I needed to know how the mystery ended to create the appropriate intrigue. Some elements still shifted as the characters grew and became their own. In other words, I knew THE MASTERPIECERS would become a vase, but how tall, wide, or symmetrical remained a mystery to even me.
With just a few chapters to go, I’m beginning to feel sad about leaving my characters behind (even though, this time, I’m planning a series), but proud to set my vase on the drying rack for all to see. For you to see!