A few years ago, I came across the term MiP. The meaning varies with the writer's mood. Usually it means Manuscript in Progress. When the words are flowing easily, it might mean Masterpiece in Progress. On those days when the writer wonders why she didn't take up a nice sane career such as safe cracking or plumbing, the MiP is the Mess in Progress.
But the term can have another meaning: mystery. I write mysteries, as well as science fiction and fantasy and a little romance. However, there's more to the word than that. In a sense, each book a reader opens for the first time is a mystery. What's around the next bend in the story, what will happen next? And each new book an author writes is also a mystery, as our characters confound expectations and the story takes turns we hadn't planned. We write the books, yes, but in a sense we discover them. We uncover them, like a sculptor freeing a statue from the marble block. We have to solve the mystery that is our latest creation.
I'm Kate Daniel. I'm a writer. So welcome, once again, to the
