When I first start a new book, it takes awhile before I hear the voices in my head. Until I visualize the characters, their locations, their voices -- it's a chore to write. I sit and stare at the screen and think, "where is the plot going here? What should they be doing?"
But once the voices start, I don't think about plot. I don't think about where they are. I write and write, then I go back and fill in the details (the clothing colors and the furniture and the weather).
When I have the voices, they're always with me. I hear them in the car (especially in the car). I talk out loud, working out details. He'll have to go to the kitchen and she can't see him. So she has to sit with her back to him. That means the couch needs to face the windows. What's she seeing when she's sitting there? I keep a digital recorder in the car and I'll dictate a note about that, so when I get home, I know what to write.
The voices are loudest right before I fall asleep. I think it's because I'm finally putting everything else to one side. I'll lay down and think, "She has to mention that thing about the jigsaw puzzle. If she doesn't mention it here, then he can't use it later on." So I'll get up, jot a note, then lie down again. And sometimes repeat, again and again.
So yes: the voices are talking to me again.
Life is back on track.
