heart balloon xToday marks the mid-point of “Winter Writing Month.” It also happens to be St. Valentine’s Day and the second day of Lent.  On this particular day, we’re taking a road trip to the Florida Panhandle as I write this blog.

So far this month, we’ve enjoyed some Alabama sight-seeing, a bit of shopping and a potluck supper with our new park friends. During this brief time, an old friend was buried back home. So sad. (Also the Pope resigned and lightning struck the Vatican.)

As well, I’ve been communicating with my proof reader, Janet, from Borealis Press – and thus doing some manuscript editing. (See A publishing surprise).

But what of my writing, you ask? I have, in fact, done lots of writing. Did I follow the Feb-No-Wri-Mo plan I described in Winter Writing Month? Well, you see, the keep-writing-no-matter-what method doesn’t seem to work with historical stuff.

Even though I’m working on an historical fantasy, there are endless facts and details to check. Plus, my local historian readers back home are expecting to see some authenticity in the portrayal of our town and its people.

After a couple of days of floundering, while I came to terms with this new reality, I reset my goals. In the new plan, I will complete Draft One of the early chapters by month’s end and have the remainder of the story roughly plotted out.

Already, my main characters are taking on a life of their own, and the setting is beginning to scare even me.