Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut

Every time I start a new book, I panic at the idea of sustaining close to another 80,000 to 100,000 words. I know I can talk a lot, but can I roll out a story that long that is interesting to the reader? Then, out of nowhere, the story starts to take form. Joe and I talk, talk, talk the story, and magically it keeps unraveling. Sometimes the thread goes in a completely different direction than expected, sometimes it is right on the projected track, and sometimes it snags and tangles and we have to back up. But how do we keep doing it over and over--all of us? When you think of how many books have been written, it amazes me that we keep coming up with new twists or fresh ideas. How can they not have all been taken already? Yet, everyday I come across something that stirs a new story seed. It might be a magazine or news article or a simple conversation I have with someone or overheard waiting in line at the grocery check out. But isn't it some kind of supernatural happening that allows us to build and expand that little bubble of an idea and eventually spill it out onto around 500 computer printed pages? I have come to believe that we are a unique breed. Composing a novel should be such a daunting task that nobody would want do it, Yet here we are, having at it, time and time again. Contrary to the public's perception, very few get rich from writing, and most of us can't totally support ourselves with the spoils from our books. So why do we keep doing it? Writing a book should scare the hooey out of us, and still we keep plowing through. Nobody other than another writer understands what drives us. Even if we can't put our finger on it, we have a gut-level appreciation. Thank heavens for conferences and blogs like this where we can spend some time with other nuts who have this insane compulsion to write. So, have a great day fellow mad writers. Now, go whip out 15 pages before supper!