I am working on my next book, which would technically be my third, only I have three different stories going at once. I know that is a writer’s no-no, but I was having a major writer’s block that would not go away.

The story with the freshest feel turned out to be my take on a dystopian novel and I figured that is the hot thing right now, so I should go for it. Before long the trend will move into something else. I think I made the right decision. In a matter of a two days, I have added over 5,000 words to the original word count and the ideas continue to flow out me like lava.

The only problem I’m having is trying to keep everything straight. I don’t write outlines and generally don’t know where my stories are heading, but I do take a few notes. This story is turning out to have PAGES of notes, and I’m not quite halfway done with it. I’m beginning to think I should get some poster board and map it all out for myself. Basically, I’m writing about a whole different world from what we know, so there are a lot of technical details to keep track of.

This got me thinking—how the heck did J.K. Rowling keep everything straight in Harry Potter’s world? I picture her in a room with nothing but chalkboard walls, adding and erasing with every new thought that came to her. I’m sure with some research I could easily find the real answer, but I think I like to picture her in a room of black boards, surrounded by rough drawings of Hogwarts and house elves. Maybe I won’t look the answer to that one up.