It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Super Student! (of more experienced writers)

I finished my (25-page!) outline Thursday, and it's already a huge help to me. I've been doing the half-sleeping, half-awake, half-dreaming thing at night where the missing parts are writing themselves, and it's an amazing relief, let me tell you. Wait, is that mathematically possible? Sure, why not.

Let's just say, I was being way too easy on my characters, unlike, say ... Diane Chamberlain who blogged the other day about why she made Jon a paraplegic. Now, if you aren't a writer or regular fan, you might be a little concerned about that post until you read the fine print. ;-)

I'm doing my best to turn up the heat on my little darlings, and not be quite so protective. After all, if they deal with it all just fine, why on earth would you want to read about them, right?

I wanted to mention another resource I came across on the web for people in the writer boat. Therese Fowler, who's debut novel Souvenir is coming out in February with a huge bang, has a whole section on the side of her blog where she links to her posts about the mechanics of writing. (Scroll a good ways down the page, where you'll find a list labeled "The Writing Posts." I kept a few of those open the other day while I was working to remind me of some of the steps I needed to take.

I've been a reading fool the last few weeks, and last night I finished All the Numbers, another debut book by another Ballantine author, Judy Merrill Larson. I have a ten-year-old, and let me tell you, this lady had me wanting to go upstairs to my baby in the middle of the night and put her in a protective tower, a la Rapunzel. I don't cry very often when reading books, but I was a blubbering idiot Thursday night--at the end of the first 85 pages! Recommended ...

I'm excited about February. I feel like I'm suddenly making some awesome progress on my story, and if I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel just yet, I at least feel a breeze.