The Nashville Plan

The plan: Spend a month in Nashville working on the second draft of a murder mystery called “Lyrics and other Felonies.” Focus on setting and the life of a songwriter.

I’d thought that after a couple of days I’d settle into a writing routine.

Reality: First four days were a whirlwind of non-stop live music, local beers, and fried bologna sandwiches that are stupid good.

But I am meeting songwriters and listening to their stories of how they came to Nashville and how they’re doing.

I met musician and songwriter Colton Randall last night. We sat down for a good talk about what the music scene has been like for him during his first six months in town. Check him out on Instagram at coltonrandall_music.

I listened to showcases of six different singer/songwriters at Whiskey Jam Monday night and met the Canadian songwriter Fred Hale and his son, Fred Jr. who is about to move to Nashville and give it a go. Fred Sr. offered to look at some of the songs “my character” wrote for the book. That’s great because lyrics play an important part in the story. They need to work.

Today, I’m completing the updated outline for the book. I’m a pantser—I don’t typically dive deep into outlines, however this is my first murder mystery and I can’t miss any steps. So even though I have a first draft already, I’m pulling it apart and putting it back together.

Clues don’t write themselves… LOL