March is NaNoEdMo. I should SO be editing this March. I have 2 NaNo novels that are unfinished. And in my mind, my 2010 project was the 1st in a series of books.

But – I have the perfect idea for my 2011 project. And you know how it is with bright, shiny, new ideas, especially to hoarders or magpies (like me).

I swoon over the bright & shiny. I will gladly give up sleep to indulge in the bright & shiny.

Last night, I couldn’t turn my mind off and could not go to sleep until I had scribbled down the ideas that came to me as I lay my sleepyhead on the pillow. These words? They were not for my current WIP. A WIP I have been toiling over for some weeks now because I just can't seem to get it right.  Oh, no. The words in question were for the Bright & Shiny New Novel Idea. A temptress, she is.

But we all know how it goes. The more we try to ignore the ideas, or put them off for the “right time”, the more they needle, and in my case wriggle their way through my brain like a worm so that I’m forced to creep around in the middle of the night and put on my camping headlamp to jot them down in the half-dark, lest I frighten the little darlings with the BRIGHT LIGHT! BRIGHT LIGHT! and I lose my oh-so-brilliant idea forever. The things we do!

Don’t judge. You know you would stand on your head or write across the entire length of your arm a thousand times over out of the fear that this could be your Last Great Idea Evarrrrr and so you must stop at nothing to capture it.

Neurotic? Nope. Just a writer.

When writing articles, I tend to listen something upbeat and peppy (live stuff by The Clash, Yeah Yeah Yeahs or Chemical Brothers work well) – anything to keep me moving and to help me get my work out of the way so I can play.

Fiction writing, on the other hand, needs music with a little more finesse. Ambient, trance, drone – these are the genres that help me tap into that deeper place where my creativity seethes and festers.

My latest playlist includes:

• dark ambient soundscapes of Northaunt (Horizons)
• Desiderii Marginis (check out That Which Is Tragic & Timeless)
• Electronic Forest (Undergrowth is a stellar spine-tingling track)
• Numina (Inside the Hollow Realm – try 'The Memories Blend')
• Terra Ambient (The Darker Space)

Somehow, this music helps me to unearth my voice by allowing me to channel to that deep, dark place, where the words seem to come from someone (or some place)…else.

At the very least, it allows me to provide a place for those strange thoughts to mushroom up into something that will hopefully scare your socks off.

I tell myself that so I don't have to think of my sinister alter-ego and the strange whisperings at night…

Photo: tijmen van dobbenburgh

• never go to bed without writing down that idea you got while dozing off. You'll never remember it in the morning
• that stray thought that seemed brilliant by the light of the moon? It may not be up to snuff come daylight

I hate to be redundant, but I cannot discount the importance of the nap. Especially after that latest story idea that popped in my head just as I was dozing off last weekend. The cool thing? It happened again!

I made just a few simple notes on the story, but it wasn't quite there yet, so I left it to percolate.

Last night, as I was falling asleep, the Muse must have been kneeling by my bed, whispering more tidbits, because my eyes snapped open and I got my trusty notebook (as per tip #1 above) and jotted down the final threads of the story.

So, my plans for the weekend include a quick outline, followed by my diving into the first draft of the story. Thankfully, all it took was a little time for my brain to conjure up more creepiness, and thus my idea didn't fall prey to the horrors of tip #2 above.

Now, to write the strange little tale. Hopefully I won't blow it

Last weekend, I dozed off on the couch. Nothing is sweeter than the afternoon nap. But our couch isn't conducive to a comfortable snooze, so after waking up and moving to my more comfortable bed, I was wide awake while my mind played over all the things I should be doing instead.

I put in my earplugs (required tools for a writer w/a snoring mate), donned my sleep mask (any writer/insomniac worth his or her salt must have one) and gave it another try.

Just as I dozed off, a strange little scene played out in my head.

And now I can't stop thinking about it.

It sneaks into my thoughts when I'm doing the dishes. Sometimes it calls to me while I'm working on another story. It just won't leave me alone.

I'm a bit afraid of this little idea. It's so not me. It's something completely different; a challenge; and like the kid who has been told to stop poking the family pet, I've got my fingers poised over my keyboard, itching to relent to the idea, to just…poke at it a little…

If you’re a writer participating in WIP Wednesday, post a link to your blog in the comments!

Fellow WIP Wednesday participants:

• Jamie Eyberg: WIP Wednesday, Kids edition
• Aaron Polson: WIP Wednesday: Four Projects of the Apocalypse
• Katey Taylor: WIP Wednesday Already?

Photo: Jakub Krechowicz

Wasn't it just last week that I went on about how we need to stick to our guns and do the 'responsible thing' by working on the task at hand, no matter how feverishly our Muse whispers story ideas into our ears late at night?

Well, I admit it. I caved. My Muse planted the seed of a story in my mind and now, I've dropped my other WIPs like they are hot potatoes.

If there were a scarlet letter for falling prey to literary whimsy, I'd be sewing it onto my sweater as we speak.

But then again, who am I to ignore my Muse? I've done it before and she paid me back by propping her feet up on the table for a long….long….long while without passing on any of her pearls of wisdom.

It's official, folks. I'm on a short leash.

My Current WIPs (works-in-progress)

- WIPs 1, 2 & 3: I've made no progress on these, I'm ashamed to say.Still stuck on 1; still waiting to hear if 2 has been accepted; 3 is stalled

- WIP #4: I know, I can't believe I've got these 4 stories on the go. It kind of annoys me that I'm working on so many stories at once. Maybe the Muse will award me for my obedience by allowing me to make quick work of this idea while it's still fresh in my mind. Because it's actually pulling at me (like most story ideas do…in the beginning, at least). Let's just hope this one doesn't end up a stalled project like the ones above

If you’re a writer participating in WIP Wednesday, post a link to your blog in the comments!

Fellow WIP Wednesday participants:

• KV Taylor – WIP Wednesday Indulges in Worldbuilding
• Aaron Polson – WIP Wednesday: I Can't Handle the Truth
• Jeremy Kelly – WIP Wednesday: The Gift Horse

[NWC]