I have to admit, I’m enjoying this time between novels. Since I have but one day a week to dedicate any time to my fiction-writing, making sure I keep up with the content kept me from enjoying some other aspects of writing fiction. I’ll always be a hybrid of “seat of the pants” and “meticulous planning” writing, but I think I’m becoming bit more fond of leaning toward the planning side of the balance.

In the last month I’ve enjoyed mapping out chapters for the sequel to In The Land Of The Penny Gnomes, and freed my mind up to work on the Lenten Devotional. This past weekend I carved out space so I might learn how to create maps to go along with my stories, and I’m thrilled with how that project has turned out!

If I were already attempting to write my next story, none of this planning would have been possible. The pressure would be on to write, rather than build, and it would nag at me to “get on with it” as I spent time working up character biographies and mapping timelines. The only one who sees that stuff is me, after all, so I’d feel the urge to skip ahead to the “good stuff.” That is, the story which I can share with others!

So, right now, I’m free to build up The Realm without the self-imposed pressure to offer the next segment of the story. And it’s rather cool. I mean, just look at my near-complete map of The Realm. I finished it during the block I normally reserve for writing content. I’m looking forward to getting underway on my next story, but right now this is a refreshing break!