When I sat down to write my weekly blog post and looked over the notes I’d been making to myself, I realized I’d spent the preceding week brainstorming and accumulating LOTS of ideas for blog posts, rather than focusing on any one idea. My first thought was to scramble to pick an idea and run with it. But my second thought is the one that won out. Why not do something a little different this week?

Today’s Snowstorm, Representing Brainstorming. Get it? ;)

So here goes. A glimpse into the current stage of my writer’s journey, along with a preview of some of what’s to come in this blog.

First off, my work in progress (Stateside Mission, my first novel) has recently reached 73,000 words. Listen carefully. Can you hear me cheering? I am. I’m also currently working on bringing the book in for a landing, allowing my characters to work out their problems, and tying up loose ends. Since it’s a romance, you know it’s going to end happily ever after, right? Well right now, I’m trying to plan the perfect proposal to fit my characters, and I’m acquiring new appreciation for what guys go through! I suppose I’m lucky to be writing a fictional proposal in the sense that I can not only change the proposal to fit the girl, but I also have the option of changing the girl to fit the proposal. Anyway, it’s looking right now like this draft may clock in around 80-85,000 words when all is said and done. We shall see.

I’m looking forward to reaching THE END so I can officially say I’ve done it and celebrate the achievement. Then I’ll be setting this novel aside and starting to work on some other projects for a while, maybe writing a short story or two and beginning to research for my next novel. That way I can come back to this novel fresh and ready to see it with clear eyes. I’ll get to see exactly what I’ve been spending all this time on, and just how much more time it’ll take to make it shine.

Besides working on my current novel, I’ve also been doing a lot of brainstorming, planning, and preparing. Specifically:

• Reading blogs and books about writing, editing, publishing, and the like.
• Brainstorming possible short stories and articles to write.
• Researching magazines in which I may want to publish those stories and articles.
• Experimenting with using Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads in conjunction with this blog to connect with other fans of Christian fiction.
• Applying for review copies of books for my blog from publishers of Christian fiction.
• Reading. Currently, reading Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, but check my Goodreads profile for updates.
• And of course, planning the kinds of things, in addition to book reviews, to write about in future blog posts.

Speaking of which, I promised a preview of some of the topics I may address in future blog posts, didn’t I?  I’ve been brainstorming and researching lots of ideas.  I have a whole series planned on finding, starting, running, and participating in a book discussion group. I’d like to do posts spotlighting each of a variety of subgenres within Christian fiction, with examples of popular authors and titles representing each. I’m also considering interviewing other bloggers who write about Christian fiction, and featuring their blogs in posts here. Then there’s the idea of posting a few short stories here as samples of my writing.  Not to mention the growing list of random post ideas tangentially related to the main focus of this blog.  And of course, I’m going to continue to review Christian fiction as fast as I can read it.

What would you most like to see me write about in future blog posts?  Please share in the comments.