Muse, a Fickle Mistress

My Muse is a fickle mistress. And seriously stricken with a severe case of ADD. She can't keep her attention on a single project for more than a month - as she proved this June, dumping Project P as it tried to push through into its second month. I fought against her, but eventually she won (as she always does), and I am now working on Project MS.

Although I am frustrated with said Muse, I am not upset to be working on Project MS. I'm actually really excited, because I've been wanting to give it my full attention for so long. And finally, the time has come!

Project MS is an Adult Urban Fantasy about a woman with unique abilities, wizards, tons of magic (mostly dangerous), and multiple worlds (though mostly set in our own). To give you a better idea of Project MS, here are six things you should know about it:

1. Project MS is actually a finished manuscript of over 100k words (my longest finished manuscript to date). I began it at least half a decade ago and got two-thirds written before my Muse lost interest. Then, several years later (for some reason I can't recall), I took up the challenge and finished it (my first finished non-Nanowrimo manuscript). So I am technically working on a 2nd Draft, which means I am finally trying my hand at Editing. I've been dying to be inspired to truly edit a manuscript, and now I have - bring it on!

2. Project MS is my Dream Project. That one story that is your Perfect Story, with all your favorite elements and characters set in your favorite places. The one story that, even though you wrote it and it may not be all that good in spots, you can't help but re-read all your favorite scenes every chance you get. That is Project MS for me.

3. Going over my 1st Draft, I discovered my main character (female) was awful. This rarely happens to me, especially when she's female. But originally I gave her the most stupid job and absolutely no life (for a reason, but still), so there are big blocks of the book where she literally sits around waiting for something to happen. She needed a complete overhaul, right down to a new name. Now seven chapters in I still haven't quite got a handle on her, but I'm getting close.

4. In complete contrast, my main male character is practically perfect in every way. This is another anomaly for me - my supporting love-interest guy usually ends up two-dimensional and such a bore. But with Project MS, the roles were reversed - my female was boring, and my guy the perfect balance of everything he needs to be, and so sure of himself about it! I can only add to his brilliance - at the moment with a nasty smoking habit. ;)

5. My opening scene just didn't cut it anymore. This was tragic for me because I pride myself on my opening scenes. But given the new angles of the main female it no longer worked, and has now been shifted and reworked to become Chapter 3 instead.

6. The first fourth of my 1st Draft is BORING. Seriously, who wrote this, because I could not have thought it would be interesting for anyone, including me! All my favorite scenes are in the second half of the book - mainly the last part written several years later. So now I have to go back and write a beginning (mostly from scratch) that makes the end proud to be in the same book with it. Luckily, I think I'm up to the challenge.

Wish me luck!