Confessions of a List Maker

I have a confession to make.  I have been drifting, writing-wise, the last couple of weeks.  Ever since I completed some revisions to a historical romance and sent it out, I have been debating what to work on next. 
 
In my partial defense, I have been preoccupied with other things.  Once that story was done, it seemed like a good time to catch up on some yard work and complete some projects which were overdue.  Planning to have a house full of guests over Labor Day gave me extra incentive, as guests often do.  Now I’m caught up on the projects, and feeling the urge to write again. 

But write what?  I spent some time yesterday afternoon debating this very question.  Since I’m a big fan of lists, I grabbed a whiteboard marker and started by making a list of the stories I have written.  Granted, most are drafts which need additional revision.  Nonetheless, it still was gratifying to realize I have written seven complete, full-length stories over the years.  Seeing the list gave me a sense of accomplishment.
 
Next I made another list on my trusty whiteboard of things I could do related to these manuscripts.  Completing revisions on the several drafts figured prominently on the second list.  As I stepped back and looked at the list, a couple thoughts came to mind.  Some of the to-do’s were for stories in my “small town historical” series, Colorado Wildflowers, which takes place in a small Colorado town in the 1890s.  However, since the two stories I was working on most recently were in that series, a change of pace would be nice.
 
After crossing those possible tasks off the list, I looked at it again and came to a second realization.  As much as I love the Georgian era historical I wrote, I think I’ll put that one on the back burner for now.  It is one of my favorite story ideas, and I want to learn more about writing and publishing before I come back to that story, so I can give it its proper due.  This meant I crossed a couple more things off the list.
 
During all of this retrospection and shortening of the list, an unexpected thought kept popping into my head.  “It’s time to work on my Medieval time travel stories.”  What’s this, you’re asking?  Time travel?  Indeed.  Years ago, I wrote a time travel called Always Faithful about a U.S. Marine who ends up – along with his gear – at a Medieval castle.  As he got to know the besieged heroine in the castle and made friends in the village, he struggled with heavy decisions about duty and honor, whether to stay or go, and if he could safely help the woman he came to love without changing history.  After I finished that story, I wrote the draft of a sequel, in which one of the men he befriended there comes forward to the same castle in its modern form.  The third story, which has been an idea in my head for years, is about the hero from the first story’s long-lost sister.
 
Now, I don’t know if time travels will come back into vogue anytime soon.  But I don’t want to simply chase trends with my writing.  And something is now nudging me back to this trilogy.  In part, I think, because I have always wanted to reunite the Marine from the first story with the baby sister he never stopped looking for. 
 
So, I guess I have a decision.  I’ll work on my time travel trilogy.  I must confess; it feels good to have a direction and purpose again.

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