I’ve been a writer for a long time now. (I guess I’ve had worse habits!) Usually when starting on a new manuscript, I already know a couple of things. First, I know how the story begins. I can visualize the scene in my mind. The second thing is that I understand what the “crucible” of the story will be. The crucible is what I call the life-or-death decision that my characters must make that will change their world and themselves. All I have to do is get from the beginning to that point.

This approach to writing is called “pantsing,” as in, I am flying by the seat of my pants. Some writers prefer to outline. They want to know exactly where the story is going before they get there. If I were writing mysteries, I would have to outline. There’s no way I could keep all the details in my head. But I’m not writing mysteries. Most of my books have been historical fiction, which requires TONS of research, but not necessarily outlining.

Besides, my characters have a way of thwarting my designs. I intend for a character to do one thing, and he or she goes off and does something else entirely. Or they say something that surprises me. Really good characters can completely wreck an outline.

That said, I now have a new project staring me in the face. A few years ago I wrote a series of short stories based on Luke’s gospel. The stories are imagined conversations that Luke had with people who encountered Jesus in some way. Those encounters left them irrevocably changed, and not always for the better. (The stories are still available on Facebook. The page is Stories from Luke.)

I have wanted to compile these shorts into one narrative and make a novel of them. Apparently, it’s harder than it sounds, because though the stories have been nagging at me, I have been at a loss about how to bring them together.

But now is the time, and now I have an idea. Time to get to work. Why am I blogging about this? Two reasons. First, I want to encourage anyone else out there who is writing, or who wants to write, to sit down and get it done. Writing a book IS doable. And second, I want to keep track of the process and remind myself that I can do it. Again.

I have no idea what the crucible will be (or maybe I do) but I can see the opening scene. Luke’s mother is a slave, and she has just given birth to him.

So here we go….