When my friend and fellow writer, Jessi, suggested that we do some short stories to enter into a couple of contests, my first thought was 'Wow, she's brilliant' (it's a thought I have frequently) and the next thought to enter my mind was 'I can look through my folder of half started stories and see if anything there is usable.'

See, I have a folder. I'm sure most writers have one similar to it. It's filled with story ideas that I have started but for one reason or another, I don't finish them. Sometimes, I'm not sure of the plot. Other times it's the characters that aren't working for me. And then once in a while there is a story that just has too many possibilities and you aren't sure where to go with it. Not sure which path is the right one for that story.

And that is where I found SuperZero. Sitting patiently in that folder just waiting for me to figure out where to take it.

I had only written a thousand words of it and I truly loved it. Ava, my MC, was fun and she had a very distinctive voice. The premise of the story was solid. A fresh take on an old idea. Yet I had never done anything with it. So I pulled it out and read it over. I mulled over it for a full day and then it was like a floodgate had opened up in my mind and I could see exactly what I needed to do to make this story every thing I knew it could be.

I spent about two days writing it and it came out at about 5000 words. I loved the story. I loved how the characters interacted. I was quite happy with it. (and from a neurotic writer... that's saying something)

The problem? The contest I wanted to enter had a maximum of 4000. I had to trim a fifth of the story away. So the editing process took over a week to do and eventually came down to Jessi and I talking over the mics and pulling the story apart word by word. Finding any and all unnecessary words to cut. It took about an hour and half of intensive editing to remove the final 300 words but we did it. And it's a story that is tight, purposeful and a lot of fun. Every word works toward pushing the story forward and I am actually proud of it.

I sent it off to several friends and fellow writers to read over and have received positive feedback. In fact, I've actually developed my own cheering section for this story.

And now I have a book planned. And when I say planned, I mean I have a 2000 word synopsis of the plot written and details completely thought out. I also have a rough outline of a potential sequel (or series if it ever sold). I have to say, I am more excited about this book than I have been for anything in a very very long time. I am starting a 4 day weekend and I cannot wait to start writing it.