Rain and Writing

It's not very common that it rains where I live, but today happens to be one of those days.

Most people say that when it rains, they just want to curl up with a good book. It's not that I don't understand that sentiment...I do, especially if I happen to have my bookmark lodged between something that has Dean Koontz or Dennis Lehane's name on the cover. What I have a stronger inclination toward, though, especially when it rains, is to curl up WITHOUT a good book and walk away with the promise of one. In short, I LOVE writing when it rains. In fact, at this time last year, it rained like crazy and my book really took shape. I remember locking myself in my room for days at a time, sometimes just staying in my pajamas and slippers, listening to the rain outside and pounding away furiously at the keyboard as if I was one of those mad genius concert pianists.

The great thing is that for the past week, I had kind of hit a lull in my writing and as much as I don't really like the rain (I'm more of a heat person), it was exactly what I needed to kick myself into high gear and get back on track.

Will I sleep tonight? Probably not, but that is exciting to me. I will stay up and observe the lives of the characters I've created as they go through another day in the world I've created around them.

That's the coolest thing about writing...it's almost as if you get to read those "choose your own adventure" books as often as you want to (remember those from the 90's?) Since those were my favorite books as a kid, it's no wonder I get a thrill even out of writing the chapters that I simply delete or throw away. I just get to go back and choose a new adventure for my characters :) How lucky am I?

...What ever happened to those books, anyway?