So, the current Work in Progress will be my tenth novel.
It has occurred to me that it could be the last in a series connected by recurring characters. Maybe that is one reason I am writing it so slowly. I remember how I felt when I finished my first one.
A few of my characters had introduced the potential for more work for themselves and for me. The first one became two. With the third, I thought that series was finished. If I was emotional after the first, you can imagine how it felt when I finished the trilogy. By the end, my main female character, Emily, had lost her husband. I felt bad about that.
Starting the fourth, I intended to make it completely different, with all-new characters and a different setting. At the halfway point, I realized my main male character, Matt, had strayed from the script. He was about to do something I knew was out of character for him. It was also out of character for me. So I did something I hadn’t before then. I deleted several chapters. I rewrote them. I knew my Matt had to meet someone to set himself back on track.
I knew exactly who he should meet. Emily had lost her husband at the end of my trilogy. I wanted her to have a happier ending. I also knew she should be part of my fourth work and any future Works in Progress I create.
Writing is an adventure I never considered I could do, or that I would have so much fun doing.
Memory is the Key 