DZone 300x300oesn’t happen often, but isn’t it a thrill when your writing goes “into the zone.” What does that mean? For me, it means inspiration is flowing like water through a fire hose, and I resent making time for eating, sleeping or socializing.

It means that when I do take a break, I feel guilty because I “feel” my characters waiting impatiently for me to return to them. It means I get almost nothing else done (not even tax filing.) It feels like my writing is “ahead of me,” as in, some force is moving my hand like the spirit of a Ouija board. It means the chapters come fast and furiously, and I don’t really need to slow down, because I can and will revisit them to rework and upgrade when the head-rush slows down and the force is spent, or I slip out of the zone.

What brings on the zone? If I knew that, I’d be earning way more than a lowly young-adult author. But an airtight outline helps, and “prep time” spent “living” with the characters in your head until they just can’t remain in your head, and must flow through your fingertips to the rest of the world. Okay, that’s the end of this blog ’cause I gotta get back to writing. Have a good day!