Freaky!

Ever been so wrapped up in a project that it overtakes every part of you? Yeah, me too. The past two nights I've been working on a scene that I first plotted a couple years ago. I had always wanted it to be a little dark, and a lot scary, but had never expected the result. I freaked myself out!
This wasn't an issue of little spine tingles or a feeling of foreboding, this was downright scary for me. I had to stop at one point and ask one of my kids to come sit by me, then when I went to bed I was worried about nightmares. Yeah, I'm a wimp. Thinking about it a couple days later, I probably worked myself up for no reason. I'm sure when I go back and re-read the chapter I'll realize that it's all silly. But still, that was quite an experience.
I'm the type of writer who dives into the emotion of the scenes I write. I want to see what the character sees. I want to feel what the character feels. It's the only way that I think I can effectively transfer the feelings I intend to convey. Hopefully it works.
Sometime down the road while reading one of my books, if you come upon a scene that scares you, know that it scared me too!

Happy Reading.
~Jamie

Tools

Last year my laptop died and I thought it was the end of the world. I thought, "how can I write without my favorite tool? How can I keep going at the pace I've developed? How, how, how. Why, why, why?" For me, and I'm sure a lot of people, comfort is a valuable tool. It's like an old worn jacket on a cold day. I'll admit, I might have shed a tear or two after closing my laptop that final time. Might have.

Then I did something way out of the norm. I didn't buy another laptop. Or another computer. I bought a tablet. Yep. I made the purchase hoping that technology would lead me into something great. I didn't want to do it, really. I wanted stick with what worked before. I'm glad I didn't.

Above is a screenshot from my tablet. It's what I see every day, each time I decide to write. The picture serves as my inspiration. It's also a hint into book four. Wink. Wink. It's been four months and I can honestly say I love my tablet. It's my favorite writing device of all time. I have a cool keyboard dock that works flawlessly and a writing program that's everything I need it to be. It's light, it's portable, and turbo fast--no more waiting for a hard drive to boot up before doing anything.

Looking back, I've learned that the only tool I needed to keep was my own imagination. How about that? Storytellers have been changing their mediums for thousands of years and the changes will continue to come.

I'm glad to have finally caught on. Change is good. And inspiring.