Location x 3: Lake Keowee

(I didn’t feel like typing out “location” three times for a post title. Hey, it’s my first day off work. I have a right to be a little lazy.)

I have this urge to write short stories. I want to complete another project before the year is out. But I know better than to set aside one project and hop on to another, especially if the first project is a novel. That’s not wise, and it leaves a trail of unfinished work. And it makes for an unhappy writer.

So I’m patiently scouring the internet for resources, giving myself little treats in the form of photos. Building up a location is one of the best aspects of planning a story. I’ve always enjoyed looking for photos of the places I want to use as settings, especially if they’re familiar and dear to my heart. Lake Keowee is one of those places.

I have family in what real estate pros like to call the Golden Corner of South Carolina. The Corner is a haven for the rich and wealthy. But for common people like my extended family, it’s been home for generations.

Lake Keowee is a popular summer destination. For years, my relatives have used it for camping, cookouts, and late-night get-togethers. Lining the edges of the distant shores are some of the most luxurious houses and mansions I’d ever seen.

(The following pictures are copyright to their respective owners. I intend no harm in using them for inspiration. They won’t be appearing in my novel.)

(The Reserve at Lake Keowee)

(The Reserve at Lake Keowee)

(Design Elite Architecture)

(Stoneledge Lake Keowee Waterfront Homes)

The last photo is what I have in mind for my hero and heroine’s homes, only the buildings won’t be so close together. Just close enough for someone to accidentally catch someone in the window. *wink wink*

The other photos might serve as inspiration for a clubhouse or lodge. My story takes place from summer to winter, and I can see a giant gathering place in the main building being decorated for harvest and Christmas.

Should I divulge the novel’s title? I think I should, even though the book is probably a year away from being finished. All right, ready? Here we go: The Naked Author.

Have fun wondering what the plot is about!

A long break can do wonders

One of the downsides to writing stories is that it doesn’t really leave a lot of time for writing other things. Shopping lists and to-do lists, sure. I can spit those out in moments (and with little actual spit). But blog posts?

Yeah, I’ve come to realize and accept that I’m not much of a blogger. Should I turn in my writer’s license or something? Golly, but everyone is saying that writers must blog and all that. What about the writing that I really want to do?

But, you know, I haven’t done any “real” writing as of late, either. I did pick a project out of the pile of ideas I’d been conjuring for the past year. I made a to-do list for the planning phase of said project (character bios and motivations, main plotline, subplot #1, subplot #2, and so on). But when it came down to actually crossing off those items, it didn’t happen.

Nothing happened until a week ago.

I can’t say that life got in the way. Life is always there; I exist in it, it’s the reason why I’m here on this plane of existence, so I can’t really say that it got in the way. (I will use the old “life got in the way” excuse if I find it valid. Hypocrisy, thy name is Sabs.) I have to work for a paycheck so I can afford food, lest I resort to digging through trash cans for pizza cheese-encrusted boxes; I must keep up my social life, or I’ll devolve into a Gollum-like creature and take to a damp cave somewhere; and I absolutely need to do chores or the home will turn into a pile even messier than the ideas one.

But once I sat down to generate ideas for all the separate components of the outline (main plot, subplot #1, and so on again), everything came out in a nice, steady spill. I wasn’t struggling or regretting pulling out this project. Something was getting done.

I guess it just took a long break to get the wheels rolling again.