Ever read a news article that excites your writey senses and muses, a feeling that, “OMG, there’s a book that I want to write!”

That’s the writey sense, that internal mass that stays on alert to concepts, characters, settings, and ideas, looking for the next story or novel.

Just happened to me. I read a news article about a man who killed himself during a traffic stop. The police found a woman’s body in the trunk. I immediately flashed onto a title, “The Woman in the Trunk”. My inner writers and muses began marshaling scenes, including opening lines. I could feel the writing energy developing.

Despite the excitement (and the anxiety, what if I’m blowing off a great novel?), I had to tell them, sorry, not today. We’re doing other things, such as editing novels that are already in progress.

They weren’t happy.