For the past few days I’ve been focusing on indexing, and my practice index. It is very challenging, but I am enjoying it for the most part. It involves reading the material and narrowing it down to essentially topics and keywords, and possible words or concepts that a reader might search for. There’s alot involved, but I am confident that I can get the hang of it. Rome wasn’t built in a day. I remember when I developed my first few rolls of b&w film….they were far from perfect. Same thing with my pictures. I didn’t become a good photographer overnight. It took alot of work, blood, tears, frustration. Especially when I’d spend 45 minutes in the loading room, banging my head against the wall trying to get film loaded, only to have it loaded wrong and be ruined. Fun times. Now, my rolls always come out fine. Because I’ve had 10 years experience, I know the tricks. I know it like I know my own mind. My hands literally move as if they have their own minds from years and years of doing this every week. So like that, I just need to get the hang of it and practice, practice, practice. I have faith.
Onto writing. Occasionally I’ll shelve a project due to various factors, then resurrect it. Transparent Eyes was my 2nd attempt at a full-length novel. It was psychological horror/paranormal romance, inspired by some real-life events (yet heavily fictionalized). This was in 2001. I made it to 8 chapters and stalled. Plotted it; stalled more. This is when I gave up plotting altogether (big mistake). And this story languished on my hard drive, making the transition to a 2 new computers, 2 moves, a marriage, and a divorce. I wasn’t sure I’d ever touch it again. I’ve changed, become a better writer in the past 6 years.
But.
The story called to me. I want to change it to be paranormal suspense. There is a mystery already in it, as well as some paranormal elements. I have a few possibilities for directions, although I will probably fall back on the basis — a psychological thing, combined with ghosts and messages from beyond the grave, a murder, love, hate, passion.
Yeah. So it’s getting interesting. I originally called it Transparent Eyes based on something that happened to me, a person who’d waltzed into my life and changed it …actually for the better, but at the time, it really sucked. I was devastated. And I wrote alot of poetry. And one poem had the phrase “transparent eyes” in it. And that’s what I called the story. But that element — the one that I wrote the poem about–probably will not stay, so I was off to find a new title. I had a few ideas but nothing grabbed me. So I went to bartleby.com to peruse poetry. And found this gem “passing footsteps of ghosts.” I got a chill down my spine from that one. So, Footsteps of Ghosts was born.
Naturally, I can’t do anything with it, except some fleshing out, plotting, musing on it, because I have a serious time problem as it is. It will go into the plotbunny pile to be pulled out when the time is right. I’m thinking sometime next year, in between projects.
I think it has potential. And paranormal suspense is very popular these days. The basis is there; it just needs a little kick.
I just love writing.
Weaver of Words 