Creativity book title a dynamite secret for now

I’m psyched about my new book project, an exploration of creativity, the roadblocks we set up to prevent ourselves from reaching our fullest potential a authors, and the ways we can smash through those barriers. Since I blogged about this project two weeks ago, I’ve made gratifying progress. The book’s structure is coming together in my head, although it’s far from fully realized on paper. But I’m feeling more confident and optimistic about my writing than I have in ages.

I’ve come up with a dynamite title I like so much that I registered it with GoDaddy as a domain name, but I’m not ready to share it with the world—not until I come up with a complete proposal and start querying agents early in 2017. I’m aiming for March, and this time around, I plan to seek a traditional publisher, because I believe this can be the break-out book I’ve been dreaming of. Today I designed a cover, with the title and subtitle at the top, then this photo my husband took of me at the Writers Police Academy last summer.

Centered beneath the photo is

Julie Lomoe

Author of Eldercide, Hope Dawns Eternal, and Mood Swing: The Bipolar Murders

I printed copies on luxurious certificate paper with a swirly lavender border, and I’ve got one pinned over my desk as a good luck talisman. No doubt the final cover will be far different, but I like the kick-ass image of me posed against the S.W.A.T. truck of the Green Bay Police Department.

Through blogging over the past several years, I feel I’ve developed an authentic voice I’m comfortable with. There’s no need to slip into an alternative reality or immerse myself in a fictional character, so I have a hunch my creative juices will flow a lot more easily than in my mystery writing. And I’ll probably include excerpts from my blog, poetry and novels to illustrate my points. I’ll also include research into the psychology of creativity, the latest findings on the workings of the mind, and other topics that will enable me to plumb the more academic, structured side of my brain, the side that won me my Phi Beta Kappa key at Barnard.

I may also include contributions from other writers. In the near future, I’ll develop some guidelines for authors who might like to be included, but at minimum, there will be two criteria: You must be a published writer (either traditional or self-published is fine) and you must buy at least one of my novels and review it on Amazon and maybe other sites. Yes, it’s pay to play, but those are the rules, folks.

Oh, and I gave up on my NaNoWriMo goal of writing 50,000 words in November, but I made it to 18,000 words, and I feel good about my progress. Turning out 1,667 words a day just isn’t feasible for me. It results in shoddy first drafts that need extensive editing, and I’d rather edit as I go along and wind up with something I feel good about. For me, between 600 and a thousand words feels about right, and that’s what I’ll be aiming for from here on out.

I’m excited to embark on what feels like a brand-new chapter in my life. I hope you’ll join me in this journey of exploration. Subscribe to this site by entering your email in the column to the right, leave comments, and if you’d like to contact me privately, email me at julielomoe@gmail.com.