Writing is a lonely job…except when its not. Today was one of those days.
I had to scuttle my original plans for #NaNoWriMo, leaving me with nothing to work on as most other options at hand suffered the same problems.
I needed a fresh new story idea, one that was not already “in progress” and/or required a lot of preliminary research (or both). Fortunately, I am lucky enough to have a group of writerly friends who stepped up and helped me figure out what the hell I am going to write.
Primarily, it was Kim McShane’s suggestion to write Wolves of Boston, a book set in the same universe as Wolves of Harmony Heights but, at the time, lacking anything like a summary or a description or, you know, characters. Nada.
I almost jokingly described my first cheesy ideas to my friend Jen, who jumped to support the idea of doing something naughty like a mary-sue (the horror!). My friend Patrica also lent her encouragement. I kept hemming and hawing but finally decided, why the hell not. Mostly because of their support.
After I finally committed to the idea, Kim and I spent an afternoon hammering out the characters and the broad strokes of a plot. It took a lot of wine, but less than 36 hours after my decision to change lanes was made, I was roaring down the road towards NaNoWriMo.
None of that would have happened without my friends there to help me.
Writing is a solitary act, but being a writer requires a strong network of support and encouragement. I am so grateful for mine.
