Nothing Left

Nano… I started out fairly strong – than life happened.

Which means, I’m not as far as I want to be. However, I am progressing. Spencer is currently at the hospital with his father and Troyce is on his way to feed the poor sick man and his grandson. One young woman is trying to find her father and another just stole a plane ticket.

I’m beginning to love working with these characters – even the more dreadful ones. If only I could stay focused. After all…

In the last four to six weeks, I have started nearly as many new books. They all range from opening sentences, a paragraph description, a complete summary, and one has an entire introductory scene written. Every time I think that I’m focused on Spencer or Adelaide, a new idea pops up and won’t go away until I write something about it.

My folder is a smattering of ideas and commencements. I need my brain to slow down, however, or instead of finishing anything, I’m just going to end up with about five hundred partial stories. As well as the end of whatever shred of sanity I have left. Because sanity requires finishing a book, not just beginning it.

Maybe I can finish that scene with Spencer tonight and get Troyce off the streets before dark… Oh, wait. He doesn’t ever leave the streets. I need to find out where he sleeps though. Or tries to sleep. He doesn’t actually sleep very often…

To the KING be all the glory!

“Nothing Left – A Novel of Reaching Rock Bottom and Loving the Unlovable”

When 2018 opened, I hadn’t planned to write this book. I had intended to write about several cold cases and the journalist who investigated them. When, however, I set out to get the book set up, I couldn’t. It didn’t feel right, it didn’t flow, and if there’s one thing I’ve begun to understand, is if my Author’s Instinct says something isn’t right, don’t push it. Even if I can’t explain the reasons. The Instinct is always right. (And yes, I’ve learned the hard way – writing pages and pages that ended up in the shredder.)

After some prayer and fiddling and rambling to one of my dear friends, I decided two of my storylines didn’t fit in. So, I pulled them out, and before I knew it, they became part of a new book. A book that deals with depression, a love for sin, and even suicide. A book that has already begun to show me just how difficult the writing journey is going to be.

A woman had wrecked her life in a mad rush for a sinful lifestyle; a lifestyle that has left her as empty as a dried up well. An author loses everything and doesn’t know where to turn, finding he has nothing left to cling to when his material possessions fall away. A housecleaning assistant is depressed over her oppressive and overly controlled home life. A soldier, had it all, until one action destroyed his ability to appreciate anything, suddenly believing himself worthy of nothing and the worst of humanity.

So many characters nearing rock bottom or heading on their way, but Spencer Matheson, the generally cheerful police detective is probably my sanity saving character at this point. Despite his own issues, he lets in a ray of sunshine in a rather serious, occasionally dark book.

As always, I am striving to write even the more weight and dark topics carefully. I plan to treat sin with a serious tone, but without going into unneeded details. Much like I have handled occurrences of death and even fornication in my previous books.

I’m already beginning to see the LORD teach me through this book. I’m about 53 pages into this manuscript – and April is Camp NanoWrimo. For the first time in my life, I hope to succeed at doing Camp Nano and get a large portion of this manuscript drafted in the next twenty-nine days! However quickly the writing goes, I pray this book glories the LORD greatly. It’s the main reason that I write, after all!

To the KING be all the glory!

How is Camp Nano Going, You Ask?

My Current Manuscript and Camp NanoWrimo…