I am hard at work on the next novel, and I’m using a different process. Usually I find the voice of the novel first (Is it the voice of the main character? Is it the voice of a narrator?) and then I write my rough draft in the voice. So, I started this project by writing in the voice of my main character, but it quickly became difficult. What is happening in my character’s life is emotionally hot and overwhelming; and so I found that her energy was too scattered and unstable to follow. My story wasn’t moving forward; it was just a hurricane of her thoughts and anxieties. So, I gave my character a sedative and put her to bed and then I wrote a rough draft in a completely unattached voice, just describing what was happening to her. Behold: a coherent plot emerged. Now that I know what the story is about, I’m revising from the beginning, releasing her voice, allowing her to be fully present in her completely whacked out way.