I am a mystery writers with a series set in Key West, Florida. While the series does, on occasion, travel outside the Keys, there’s always the Key West influence. To find out more about my books, see some photos and learn about my background, go to michaelhaskins.net. This space is set aside for my ramblings on all kinds of things as I search for my Muse. The Muse that is supposed to help me in my writing.
If writing a short story or novel was easy, everyone would be doing it. Some days sitting down at the laptop and writing is easier than drinking a beer. Other days it’s harder than digging a hole in rocky ground bare handed.
I am working on my latest Mick Murphy Key West Mystery, Mistaken Identity, now. It opens in Key West and shortly moves to Dublin, Ireland where Murphy’s friend has been murdered. Roughly, the first 100 pages take place in Dublin.
That part of the book – Dublin’s Fair City Where the Girls Are So Pretty – is done and out for editing. The second half – Key West, America’s Caribbean – is a slow work in progress. I had hoped the book would’ve been published by now. It looks like this summer, if I can keep up the pace of 500 to 1,000 words a day.
My daily goal has always been 1,000 words a day. Some days it just doesn’t happen. I envy those writers that can sit and write eight-hours a day. When my writing stalls, I try to use the time to write in my notebook about chapter ideas. Where the story is going. Who lives and who dies.
Time to open my Word.Doc and see if I can surpass 1,000 words today. Otherwise, it’s another cup of Cuban coffee – cafe con leche – and my notebook.