what makes a story walk?

still stuck with murder in the Gun Room - it seems to have so much potential, but is developing a very splintered story map, full of engrossing visual details, but which refuses to take direction - maybe I should have been a film writer
it is quite discouraging, but interesting - what makes a story 'walk'?
meanwhile I have had note cards made from the illustrations for Elephant Blue, they are beautiful and have solved my holiday card problem - this year I am sending out the camel , "I love the velvet brown of camel, yellow, bronze and tawney, the camel colors of the sands.." with the message "peace in the desert"
five days to contemplate, relax and read, something may come

out and about

Sunday October 4

Oh dear, how time flies - into October and still stuck on chapter 5 of Murder in the Gun Room - but Elephant Blue has been out and about , it was at the Big E last weekend and this weekend and did quite well - automatically a favorite for art teachers and early elementary - "oh I can do so much with this"

I have worked up several little scenes for taking Murder in the GR further- it is such a visual process for me - so real that I am almost reluctant to set them down in words - the main character is searching for something to wear to a drinks morning that she has been invited to, she is looking in the cupboard that belonged to an elderly aunt in whose house she is staying, and is surprised to find several shawls and wraps, velvet, chenille, fringed and beaded, voluptuous, sensual - she is transported, and full of questions when did Aunt Serena wear such things, will one of them be appropriate over her black velvet pants, the only faintly dressy thing she has with her, what does one wear for a Boxing Day drinks morning in the country, she is standing in front of the long miror on the back of the bedroom door , wound in a beautiful paisley, fringed velvet wrap, the shadowy old mirror shows her another self, beautiful, calm, elegant ...... was this Serena in the old days, where did she wear the shawl and for whom......

I may change the title to Who is on the Sea Saw, since I originally wanted to have all the W questions, as title words , but i must admit I am very fond of the gunroom

back to school

so we are back to school already, less time for writing, but good to be social again! Elephant Blue is doing well - people seem to like it - I am now trying mind pictures and language scraps that will spark the brainstorm process for a third book in that series - the idea for Elephant Blue came as I was reviewing some old color poems, and the first book, Goodnight World Outside, was prompted by sweet words from my little grandson, 'goodnight outside" he would say on his way to bed -
little shreds of language can be so powerful and evocative -
I am still struggling with Murder in the Gun Room - I may let it lie fallow for a while and rework another story that got itself to half a novel's length then obstinately refused to move, maybe a second reading will prompt the flow and I can open it up - my writing coach, my daughter Sarah, often says "go back into the moment and keep writing" - so I will -

second novel gets under way

today she is taking a step into the blogger sphere!
after celebrating yet another mind boggling sign post birthday I am stepping into the computer age with my first blog!
I will be posting my progress on my second psychological suspense novel, Murder in the Gun Room - I am up to chapter five and am amazed at how different the process is second time around - before it was just free flow, the story wrote itself
now I am so much more concerned with structure, trying to keep everything tight and connected without losing the spontaneous evolving story spell, which is the way I write best
am interested in how other writers approached their second works

have spent the summer (thank goodness for teacher summers!) re reading all my favorite mysteries