A is for Assemblage #AtoZChallenge

I know today is April Fool's Day - an easy A choice, yes? But my theme this year has to do with lessons on life and writing learned during a home improvement project, so today's post is about assemblage. 

​Assemblage: a collection or gathering of things or people. My family is about to embark on a new adventure. My parents are moving to a nearby town and we're going to start a new business. This business involves the purchase and renovation of a beautiful century old house. And, as you might guess, it's going to take a whole lot of planning. We'll be gathering together all the things we need to make our project a success. Assemblage. 

This process is the same in many areas of life. As a writer, I spend an enormous amount of time collecting facts and details. Sometimes this involves research into real places, people, and events. In some cases, I'm making things up as I go. I will spend months with my characters, their conflicts, and the details of their lives before I ever sit down and start typing a story. The end product is an assemblage of pieces of information that will build the story, creating suspense and giving readers characters that they can relate to. 

Today, my work involved creating business documents and applying for licenses and identification numbers that will lead to more tangible tasks in the future. And since it's Easter, I'll be keeping this post brief so I can spend time with my loved  ones. But I hope you'll follow along during the month of April. These posts will be packed with hints, updates, and reveals as we get this home project going and I simultaneously draft my next novel with the goal of completing both projects by June. 

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