I've been away for awhile, caught up in a furious rewriting of my second novel, The Sacred Circle. I've learned alot about magic while away. Why magic? First, "Sacred" is about modern-day witches with the ability to conjure magic, so there should be plenty of spells and shit in it, right? And secondly, it's a story of romance, so there should be a lot of that too, right? So, what happens when your editor E-mails that the manuscript you've sent doesn't have enough of either?
You do two things. First, you cry with disappointment and silently threaten to put a curse on the Editor's head for not seeing how wonderful the manuscript truly is, and then, second, you sit your butt down in the chair and hit the "rewrite" mode of your creative Muse and get to work.
And that's when the magic begins to happen. You let your head and heart start working simultaneously--to tell the story you meant to tell in the first place. You take the Editor's critical notes, and you pare them down to what's possible and what isn't. And then you begin to write--from Page 1 to The End--all of it new. And the magic of writing begins to weave its way into your story. The charcters begin "living" the words, and the story shifts dramatically. Soon, the Magic finds its way into the characters' lives and romance is suddenly part of the conjuring. Out of nowhere, the story takes a new shape, but a shape that is exhilarating, because you've touched that chord of magical music where a new symphony resides. You stir and you summon, weaving a spell with the words. And then the magic builds to a high level of energy when the spirit guides answer the call.
By the time you've finished and sent the rewrite back to the Editor, you're exhausted and in need of a week's sleep, but you've also found that the magic hasn't left your life at all. It's still there, in the corners of your mind, simmering like a bubbling cauldron, ready for the next big story idea. What will that be? I don't know yet. But I know it will be laced with magic, love and romance. Why? Cause everybody knows I'm the biggest sucker for love and romance that ever walked the Earth.
