This is a real list. I’ve done all these for Sidetrack Key, my second novel and the one I carried the greatest mythology about. Notions like – everyone has a novel in them, but the acid test is the second novel<\/strong><\/em>, stuck in my head. I don’t remember where I heard it, but it has haunted me for years. I’m certain someone else said, once you write the first, the next will be easier<\/strong><\/em>, but I probably thought that person was an idiot – such are the thoughts that live in the antechamber of my psyche. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Why do I remember the story about the guy who came out of his own Broadway hit play to rapturous approval and applause and became severely depressed because, <\/em>I’ll never write something that good again<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n When writing means too much, negativity rules and I fear becoming a sad, one-trick pony. At that point, approval seeking rears its ugly head – so embarrassing. I’m at my best when I simply don’t care about anything but the work itself, but I wonder what else I would lose if I could shut out the voices. It’s a package deal, I think. I am a deeply flawed human being who loves to write about deeply flawed human beings, and some days are better than others. But it’s all worth it when a section of work emerges from nowhere, playing its own tune, not caring if anyone dances (to stretch the metaphor). I have days and passages like that, and wander the streets with a dumb, spellbound joy when I feel I have grasped the essential feel of a moment, and there is nothing better on earth… except cats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have one or two people who know what they’re doing and champion your style, you’re lucky. Perhaps you have a wonderful guild or group that works for you. But people like me have to be careful, because the voice that says who do you think you ar<\/strong>e<\/em> lurks in a basement that doesn’t even exist here in South Florida. These hidden tunnels are small and deadly and have many secret passageways that lead to the mother lode of paralysis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So my cunning plan is to write the next novel in the No Name Key<\/a> series in three months and have it out within five. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I recently came across this entry from Flannery O’Connor’s, “A Prayer Journal.” Thank you, LD. I wouldn’t have found it on my own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/argyle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/A3CC0D06-14C7-47C9-AE2A-3CC5D83261BD_1_105_c.jpeg\")
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