I know nothing about horses. They are large and have big teeth. People ride them. And it is apparently not the best idea to change horses in midstream, thus we have the saying. Google says we owe the saying to Abraham Lincoln. And it’s on the Internet so it must be true.

But I’m going to do it anyway.

I’m pretty sure I’m a pantser at heart. I always have been. When the assignment required an outline, I wrote the paper first and then the outline. I think this is because I have so many words and it’s hard for me to know what they’re going to do without spreading them out and rearranging them.

But I want to be a plotter. There are good reasons to plot first and then write. Being able to tell an editor what you’re going to do without writing the whole dang book would be a very good reason. Also, being able to follow an outline should mean you know what to put down every single day.

I got closer with the Rock’n’Rolla Hotel because I thought out a series. So, now that I’m at the last one, everything should be easy. I’ve set up the place. I know the secondary characters very well. But I’m going to tell you, the hero and heroine of this one are giving me heartburn. Part of that’s because my editor and I made a change in the first book that impacts this one. And it’s so cool that I can’t even believe how things work out. But now I’m having trouble figuring out who this guy is and what kind of girl he needs. Have you ever been there? No? Just me? Fine.

I mean, his backstory is set. We’ve been reading it already. What is the deal?

It doesn’t help that my day job has hammered every single bit of imagination into pulp lately. Or that the clock is ticking. But…today, I think I nailed the Jell-O to the wall. This is who he is (until my editor says differently) and this is who she is. And I’m starting over. This will be version three of Chapter 1. Third time’s the charm.

Anybody know where that saying comes from? If it’s Abraham Lincoln again, I’ll know it’s all meant to be. Just in case it isn’t, I’m not going to look it up. Here’s my new, impossibly ambitious plan. I still have the day job. I still have edits on Can’t Help Falling In Love. But I need this story done. So it’s crunch time, yo.