Elementary Dear Watson

I watched the second Sherlock Holmes tonight (it is Sunday as I write this post). It was a really great movie, full of action, intrigue, fun visuals, entertaining Holmes deductions. It was exactly what I had hoped for. As my boyfriend and I walked out of the theater we discussed the movie, and then some of the movie posters on the walls, such as the new Underworld movie. As we approached the exit my brain switched gears and I literally stopped and one of those scenes from the movie flashed through my mind. The ones where everything slows down and Holmes suddenly knows the next moves in a fight, both his and his opponents. Except it wasn’t a scene from the movie… it was a novel. The story unfolded just like Holmes’ fights. My boyfriend asked me what was wrong and I started to giggle. I did eventually explain to him why I was laughing maniacally and told him the story I’d envisioned on the ride to Wal Mart where the sales associates were treated to little bits and pieces of my insanity as I laid out my story.

I’m not sure what really triggered this explosion but it has happened to me before. Things unfold much like the scenes from the movie and then I have a novel. Perhaps not as complete as the fights that Sherlock Holmes envisions, but it’s a start. And of course there is plenty of work left to be done before I tackle this project. I’ve been working on how to retell a novel I wrote way back when. By working on, I mean pondering every now and again, not seriously considering, but now I have a plan, and perhaps in six months, after I finish my current round of projects, I’ll start in on this project. Yay for brainstorms.

How do novels unfold to you? All at once or a little at a time? Do you have to tear every bit from the page, or does it all explode into place? For me it’s usually a little of both.

As a side note, apparently “Elementary Dear Watson” never actually appears in the books, but came into usage in one of the movies.

Now for a little pimpage. I recently completed reworking (with tons of help from others naturally) and publishing my Vampire-Hunting Dog stories into a single novella. It’s available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble and if you want to know more, you can go to my website.

Doc is a Border Collie who hunts vampires with his human, Kevin. In this adventure they face their first fight and their most dangerous foe. It’s man’s best friend vs. his worst enemy…