CLS Romance: Update and Self-Help

My CLS Romance project is still in that 'rethink' phase where I am working though several plot and story issues. I have the outline, and as with every project you create an outline for - there's a good side and a bad side. Outlines help keep you on track, but they can also sit there like a mental lead weight around the project. I always tell myself this:

You are always free to break free from the outline at any time.

This keeps it fresh, while giving me the security of having a plan to fall back onto. There may be books where I completely jump track, like my previous novel, On Black Wings. There came a point in that book where I just said, this is how I want it to end, and I took it from there.

Never let an outline become a 'work list' and feel like a lead weight on your creativity.

I am feeling better about it, but I wanted to rethink the beginning and figure out some more ways to raise the heat level early without resorting to some of the tried-and-true romance clichés for early flash heat. I also wanted to be careful not to add too much 'you saw this coming' cute stuff to the beginning, I have some of that in there now and it needs to go. I want the story to generally feel like a surprise even though you know what's coming, and I don't want it to be a predictable plot arc.

Self-help? Yes, I am working on a six-book self-help series for another website and project, so my time shall be scarce for much other than what I do normally. This is likely not good news for the CLS Romance project, but I keep working on this regularly and hope for a breakout. You know, those, OMG moments where you can't stop writing and you end up pushing through to the end. You have to always keep your toe in the water with all your current projects, touch them, work on them every day, and then when you get that energy rush - stick with it.

Even if you are not going to put serious work in, at least open the file and make a couple changes every day. Let your book know you love it!

So work continues as normal, all my projects are ticking along wonderfully, and expect to hear more from me soon on a lot of books and other works that I want to release before the end of the year.