Clash of the Innocents, my second novel,  has started its way in the world and the inevitable question is, “what now?”  I have a list of projects, all lined up like ducks in a row, that have been waiting patiently for me to have the time and the brain-space to attend to them.  I don’t believe in waiting for the muse.  I believe she exists, but I’m sure that if she comes aknockin’ on my door and my head’s under the pillow, I won’t hear her and that will be that.  So I’m always thinking about the next project, and the closer I come to finishing one the more intensely I need to start pursuing the next.

But I know enough now about writers and artists to know that we all work differently, so I thought I’d ask:

        When you’ve finished a project ( a story, a novel, a play, a poem, a painting, a composition, whatever), how do you decide what to work on next?


Do you sit down and wait to see what arises?  If you work in several genres, do you alternate between them?  Do you give yourself a break from creating anything at all in order to “recharge,” or do you plunge immediately into the next?  Do you even think about it?  Does it matter? Do you wait for the muse to strike or do you force her hand?

Please give a little think about this and place a comment in the box.  I’ll report back on what I expect will be a very wide range of approaches.   And in the meantime, and since we’re talking about the muse, here’s a little background music, from Muse, to help you along (and thanks to Juicyestates.com for the ducks image and Speedemon6 for the videoclip):