I'm up to 54,000 words on Moongazer now, but more importantly, I've worked out the end. It was fuzzy to me for a while -- I was playing with so many directions it could go in. But while jogging today, it all became clear and concrete.

I know everyone writes differently, but for me I run plots over and over in my brain, trying them out different ways, imagining different outcomes. And finally one sticks. So even when I'm not physically writing, I'm usually thinking things out in my brain. I can only compare it to a puzzle. I know there's a correct way for everything to come together, but it's not always clear at first.

Now all I have to do is draft the second half of the book and then go back, fill it all in, and then read it all over to make sure everything makes sense. I keep a list of hints to work into the beginning that have to do with things that end up happening in the end to give proper foreshadowing. That can be important -- you don't want your climatic moment to come out of nowhere and the reader to throw the book across the room, feeling angry and cheated. It's far better to set it all up in advance and give that reader an "aha!" moment. They do this in movies all the time -- whatever gift the hero is given in the beginning saves his life at the end. Etc. etc. It's all about the symmetry.

Anyway, got a lot of writing to do over the weekend. Not to mention that whole celebrating Christmas thing. (Still have to wrap presents, sigh.) Oh and I have a marathon Veronica Mars session planned. I'm well into the second season now and it's dark and cliffhangery and I need to know what happens next!!

MARIANNE