My current WIP, is going great I just want to be finished! And not for the usual reasons—tired of the characters, fatigued by the plot, or just plain tired of writing the same story different ways for years—no, I want to be finished because I have another story that’s in the background screaming for attention.

And I love the storyline, you have to if you plan on sticking with something for so long. And these new characters want their turn, in fact if I don’t give them their due, then they’ll start leaking out in my current WIP, and I can’t have that.

So I’m doing what any good writer would do—beat the mess out of those new characters until they shut up.

Ha.

But seriously, what to do when your next book doesn’t want to wait it’s turn?

Well, this may be contrary to what most writers do, but I think writing two books at the same time is a big DON’T. (This does not mean that you can’t edit, and write new material. I’ve done it, and most authors do work on two projects simultaneously. But to actually write two books at once? A NO-NO in my opinion.) But what I do believe that needs to be done is to start taking notes on the next project, maybe not a full outline, but definitely jot down when one of your new character’s says something memorable.

But be careful! Starting new books, even outlining too soon, can make you procrastinate on your current novel. Pretty soon, you’ll have a bunch of inspiring half-finished novels hiding in a file on your laptop.

So while it’s great to have new ideas percolating, I can’t let it distract me from my current WIP. These characters want their story told too. So I’m off to finish their story…

For those of you who follow me on Twitter (@katrinasspencer) and Facebook you guys already know that my family and I had a wonderful vacation in Florida this summer. Disneyworld was great but my favorite part was the clear blue water at Melbourne beach. When I think about it, I can’t remember the sand between my toes growing up. I mean I remember it, I have it imprinted on my brain somewhere—but the feeling of the sand in between my toes, the cool water lapping on my ankles, the dizziness from the tide pulling the water back into the sea—those details were forgotten as details of laundry, dishwashing (okay, okay I have a dishwasher, but somebody has to stack the the dishes in) crowd in my brain, clamoring for space.

That vacation had a profound effect on my writing. (I always bring a notebook or my laptop with me, even on a vacay. You never know when you could get inspired!) The peacefulness of the ocean waves, the salty sea air blowing my straw hat off my head—all those evoked emotions in me that I had to get down on paper. No, my characters didn’t live at the beach and didn’t take a vacation, so how could this help my writing?

I’ve always been the one to preach that it’s great to have a passion for writing, but writing cannot be your life. Crazy I know, but if writing is all you thought about, all you ever did, then you couldn’t get much living done. And for me, living enhances the ability of a writer. Seeing the world in a whole new perspective translated to my characters and they grew from skeletons to fully, breathing creatures with minds of their own. Because I experienced, they too could experience—taste the turkey sandwich peppered with sand, the sheer glee on my daughter’s face as a wave crashed on her belly and the scream that scared the seagulls when she felt seaweed on her heels. My characters were made richer because of my experiences. I forgot about that, how life translates to art. It’s easy to forget when you get caught up in the hum-drum of life.

Whether it be a weekend getaway or week-long escapade, try to take a vacation this year. Your characters will thank you for it.