Draft Four Begins

I'm scared.

For nearly twenty years I've written novels, seven unpublished manuscripts so far.  Truth be told, I wrote my first complete manuscript in 1987 intending to sell it to Silhouette Romance. 

Shhh.  Don't tell anyone.  :-)  Not because I intended to write category romance, but because I've been knocking at the same door for twenty-six years now.

What's the definition of insanity?

This novel is different, though.  I can feel it.

We're partners this time. 

Compadres. 

Those other efforts I tried like hell to control it and each time it took control of me.  The results ranges from uneven to downright awful.

This time is different, and not just because it's a ghost story.

She whispers to me in the dark.  I listen.  I feel.  I think.  And we decide together.

My writers groups then help refine, tweak, sculpt.

So I'm starting draft four, knowing the story well and in how many different directions it can go.  More important, I know which direction we should travel.

My lovely ghost will guide me.

So why then am I scared?

Am I scared?

In zoology class I took in college in the 1970's, the professor proclaimed that the chemical response in the human body to fear and excitement is identical.  Our mind determines which.

So, no.  I not scared at all.

I'm damn excited.

So I begin today by reading draft three.

I'll keep y'all posted on my progress