First day of winter means ... a new book!

I’ve talked before of how my writing and reading life revolves with the seasons. Here’s my schedule:

FALL: Starting on the first day of fall, I concentrate on new ideas that have been percolating in the brain kitchen all summer. By now, I’ve probably decided which idea will get the novel treatment. These sparks of ideas come from song lyrics, overheard conversations, mashups of two or more works of art, an image I see at a museum … just about anything. So once that magic idea is on stage, I start researching and outlining. (I am a RABID plotter. It’s my secret weapon.)

WINTER: By the first day of winter, I’m ITCHING to start. Itching to write. Itching for that butt-in-chair, goal-forward feeling that it’s finally time to start my new project. So off I go! Winter and Spring are for writing. I’ve found that, with a great outline, I can write a novel in about 6 months.

SPRING: More writing! The goal is to finish by the last day of spring.

SUMMER: So now — if all went well — I’ve finished my novel by the last day of spring. This gives me about a month to revise, and then I send my manuscript off to my agent. And then the reward — a whole season of reading! Of course I read throughout the year, but Fall/Winter/Spring means writing is my priority. In Summer, I take a break and catch up on my reading (while new ideas start percolating again in the brain kitchen!).

So tomorrow — December 21 — is the first day of winter 2023, and I’m ready to write. The outline is done and I’m ITCHING to get started.