Today I decided to jot down the first rough outline for my next novel. It’s going to be a YA contemporary called LIDDY CHATTERLEY’S LOVER. I’m so crazy excited about this thing – and I knocked out almost 1,500 words of planning in no time at all.

Now I have my idea written down, with the storyline, main characters, and plan for the first scene. I don’t know when I’ll start. I have a billion other things clamoring for my attention, and a visiting niece, and when I start writing I kind of lose focus on everything else.

But creating something new – and writing down those ideas felt so good.

I’ve been hesitant to plunge into Liddy’s world, so I’ve forced my daydreaming thoughts onto my past novels. Writing’s like a drug, almost, for me. Until I type the last words, I’m hooked by the story’s siren song. Homeschooling, housecleaning, cooking, showering, (ha ha) (kind of) and other necessities fall to the wayside as I become the main character and everyone else. It’s not a healthy place to be…but it is a wonderful place to be.

I’ve never started actually writing on a novel without the first sentence or two already in my mind. So maybe it’s time to open my mind to the possibility, and wait for the first words to come to me.

I’m exhilarated by the idea. And a little scared.