When It Falls Into Place

Rebecca Royce has been talking about places she gets ideas and even how she can write surrounded by 3 kids. It's amazing what kind of clarity a writer can have when they have an open manuscript in front of them and tons of noise going on around them. I have found occasions where the louder it is, the better I concentrated and worked.

One such occasion ties in with a post I did earlier in the week at my personal site. If you want to check it out, the first chapter of my upcoming release, Blood Fever, Book 2 in the Rebirth series, was posted in its entirety here.

How does it tie in?

This book went through a lot. Two years ago, it was the first novel length (82K, at the time) book I'd completed. The characters and world took on a life of their own and I actually wrote three books (this one and two that follow in this series) over the next six months. I started working on what I thought was the next book in that series and, as it turns out, was really the first - Flash of Dark, Book 1 in the Rebirth Series. That meant changes had to happen to the other books I had and I'm working through those bit by bit. The world continues to grown and expand.

When I first wrote Blood Fever and even through some subsequent revisions, I was never happy with chapter one. In my opinion, chapter one is important. If you have a new reader, this is the chapter you have to grab their attention. So, make it count. It sets the tone for the rest of the book.

I can't tell you every place I write, because I don't remember them all. However, sometimes, a place stands out. The place I wrote the first chapter of Blood Fever is one such case. The final draft of the chapter as it is in the book available on the 12th was written sitting here:


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It's the Seattle's Best Coffeehouse at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa in Hawaii. I vividly remember sitting just steps away from the Pacific Ocean typing away during the time I wasn't pulling hours for my desk job (yes, a few times a year, my DJ ships me off to Hawaii. If you're jealous, think about the fact I also have to go other places not so great. I got stuck up in Connecticut earlier this year because of a blizzard). I've actually written a lot in Hawaii (more so because my family doesn't go with me for the trips) but this was one time where it stood out. I remember the weather, the baristas supplying me with coffee with smiles on their faces, the constant stream of tourists on vacation in and out for the time I was there. I still, to this day, remember it all.

It was just one of those moments when I got to the end of the chapter and everything had fallen into place.

Hopefully, if you're a writer, you have either had your own experience like this or you eventually will because it's just...perfect.