COMING UP WITH A NEW STORY

Here I am, at last, in Port Isaac, Cornwall. And here I've been dredging my imagination inspired by this incredible fishing village to come up with an idea and a story for a new novel. A novel not part of my 'Midnight' series. A complete stand-alone. But still a contemporary romantic suspense novel, but the first one without my character Rachel O'Neill.

So, I've been thinking and thinking and thinking, making notes about possibilities, scrutinizing my surroundings with the purpose of creating the backdrop for my story, focusing my every waking thought on it ... until last night. Last night I met up with a couple gals and their husbands who we'd met the first night Trish and I arrived in Port Isaac. Fun people. And last night I put a question to the gals ... why would my protagonist be in Port Isaac, hiding out, living in a cottage she purchased without her husband of six months knowing, while he's back in New York City not knowing where she is? Why is she here? Why did she disappear?

Well, then the story unfolded. Between the three of us, we came up with a wonderful plot. At least a starting point with possible plot points ... and it was a fabulous brain-storming session. So now I'm eager to get to the writing of it.

After leaving them, I went for dinner at The Mote - crispy salmon, spinach, potatoes, and salad - then I walked back up the hill to our cottage in the rain, feeling the night had been totally productive and exhilarating. Trish stayed in for the evening, had been out walking all day while I worked - publishing stuff.

Today we went to Tintagel a few miles from here - the Camelot Castle Hotel and the village that was a complete surprise (the village is not portrayed well on the Internet, it's terrific). And as we traveled the bus ride to and from Tintagel, my mind continued writing this new novel ... working title JESSICA. (Oh, our busdriver on the return trip was a flaming queen - ruby red nail polish and all. He was a riot, entertained us all the way back. Lots of laughter.)

By the way this was the first time I've discussed a possible plot with anybody else. And it's strange how it all came about. It only goes to show that wherever and whenever you can come up with a story, and with whomever, do it. They were very helpful. Both Brits. And I truly thank them.

THOSE DREADFUL 'ING' WORDS AT THE BEGINNING OF A SENTENCE . . .

Okay, I must get this off my chest. And I'm not targeting any one writer, because every writer has committed this dreadful crime at one time or another. Usually at the beginning of their writing career . . . until someone like me calls their attention to it.

ING words at the beginning of sentences is a no-no, please! Or rather, an OVERUSE of ING words at the start of sentences is a no-no. Take a look at what you've written lately. Do you have more than one sentence on a page starting with an ING word?

And while you're at it, also look for sentences beginning with AS ... same thing. You can overuse AS as much as ING words.

Now an occasional ING word and an AS is okay starting a sentence or paragraph, but not when it becomes one after another on one page . . . when it stands out and leaps at you because of its overuse. The construction of each sentence needs to be different than the last, a contrast to the last, and words need to be of a variety so as not to bore and be repetitive.

Starting every sentence or a paragraph with a name is a no-no too.

But back to the ING words. Have you ever read a sentence like this: "Opening the door, she went directly to the bedroom." Oops! You can't open the door and go to the bedroom at the same time. In this instance, the ING word was not part of the action of the same sentence. So it's wrong anyway. You would say, "She opened the door and then went directly to the bedroom."

I saw one perfect example of misuse on the Internet - "Unlocking the door, she left the room." You see the problem here? You can't unlock the door and leave the room at the same time.

So when you do use ING words at the beginning of sentences, sparsely, make sure the ING phrase relates to the subject of the sentence. Here's one use - "Transfering the information was the important task of the day." But could also be written as - "The important task of the day was transfering the information." The second is preferable.

So watch those beginnings of sentences and paragraphs, and remember variety is best ... so crucial in your advancement as a writer.