A Very Particular Moment

I’ve been at this moment exactly three times before in the past decade.

That moment when I’ve finished a book and I’m starting a new one.

It’s a weird place to be. Scary, yes. Unnerving as hell. Constant thoughts of, “What if the well is dry?” and, “What if the next book sucks?” and, “What if climate change causes super storms that wipe out civilization before I can finish the series?” swirl around my brain like chunks of ice in the margarita blender.

But there’s also hope. Excitement. A giddy feeling that’s not unlike what you experience when you let your weight shift forward when you’re bungee jumping.

All in all, it’s a weird moment to be in.

There are generally two types of writers: pantsers and plotters.

The plotters are folks that think about the plot first. They map out the story and character arcs. They have lots of notes and bulleted lists. They understand the story stem to stern before they begin to write in earnest.

Pantsers are the ones that “write by the seat of their pants.” They wander into the forest without a map, crawl into the cave without a flashlight. The pantser discovers moments and characters and even entire worlds along the way. Later, they go back and try to make sense of it all. Later, they go back and think about plot.

I’m more of a pantser. I do a little plotting. I have the kernel of a story, a couple of characters loosely imagined, a moment or two that I think would be important. Beyond that, though, I dive into first drafts with very little planning.

I wonder sometimes about plotters versus pantsers, and how each feel at this moment. The moment when they’ve finished one book and are about to start another. Do plotters have that insane mix of hope and terror, or do their more logical and organized brains give them some protection? Do other pantsers just dive into that next book with nary a care, or do they also fear that this time they’ll get lost in that forest or stuck in that cave?

I suppose it’s a little different for everyone, and also much the same. All I know for certain is that I’m in that moment again, a moment I’ve only been in three times before, and I am frickin’ loving it. The fear. The excitement. All of it.

It’s a moment I hope I get to experience many more times in my life, and one I hope I never get used to.