Starting A New Novel

The beginning 10,000 words of a novel are usually the easiest for me to write, but lately, I've been struggling to get past 500. At first, I blamed my lack of progress on a new genre (Christian suspense). Then I thought my delay indicated a plot problem. Nope. Not it.  Know what it is? New Character Syndrome.

Imagine a stranger walking into your house, loading up a plate with food from your fridge, then plopping down on your couch and saying, "Let's talk about me for an entire year!" That's basically what happens, you know, when characters invade a writer's brain. Ordinarily, I'd be all, "Okay! Tell me everything, person I've never seen before!" Not this time. This time, I'm avoiding them. Or, well, her. Her name is Daisy Meadows, thanks to the New Age moonshiners that spawned her. She's trying to get my attention, and I know the second I make eye contact with her, she's going to vomit details, so I'm not looking. I'm still kind of in love with Stewart and Catrina from A VALLEY TOO FAR. Sigh. I really liked those people. We went through a lot of stuff together, and in the end, I loved them deeply. I'm not ready to turn away from them.

Did someone just pop a bubble?

Yeah, she did. I can smell her gum. I'll bet it's pink.

Yes, it's pink. And she's smiling. And wearing a tartan skirt.

Shit.

Image Credit: Kaira_Vlna from Pixabay