How long until your next book?!
I normally get that message about 8 – 10 hours after a book is released. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE it. How rad that someone wants to read more of my fictional boyfriends. But, boy, does it put the pressure on! Sort of.
The time I’ve had off this year has given me some time to think about what I want as a writer, what kind of future I see for myself, and how I’m going to make that happen for me. Because, let’s be honest, no one else is going to help me.
One of the glorious things about ADHD is that we take on too much at once. We say yes to everyone and everything, then hate on the world when we realise we don’t have time to scratch our backsides – and that’s before personal politics is poured on like weedkiller. Learning to say ‘no’ is quite difficult, considering it’s only a two-letter word. But here we are, trying to write all the books at once.
Literally. Say it with me: lit-er-all-y.
Anyway, to give you an idea of where I’m at with books, and because I’m hoping that I’ve finally found a website design I like and won’t hit erase at 2am one bleary morning, here my list of things I want to do.
A Reading Record
I’m digging being away from Goodreads. As an author, it’s a reality that I have to use it (and look at those reviews), but I’m loving the movement back to a slow life, to pens and paper, and journal keeping.
I’ve got a rough idea of a layout in my head. Something that’s part journal, part thoughts, part review, throw in a few classic book quotes, and I might have something I’ll be willing to put into print.
Poetry
Poetry is something that’s always fascinated me. I’ve read a lot of it this year, and Lana Del Rey’s recent collection where she writes about her home town and spots that are special to her, has resonated in a way that has be thinking that maybe I can do that, too. Slap a couple of photos in there.
Oh, Montague, Montague, whatfore are thou height restrictions?
Science Fiction
You heard it here, friends. There’s something magic about exploring words outside our own. I mean, SF is kind of like The Simpsons Did it, in that Star Trek and Star Wars has covered most of it off already, but there’s always room. There’s one story in particular burning a hole in the hallways of my mind, one that I workshopped with my husband, that I think would be spectacular if I can pull it off properly.
And, yes, it still has romance in it. Naturally. It won’t be something Chuck Tingle-y, Ass Bandits from Uranus, but something more … Starman, Frequency, In Your Eyes. Hell, even Kate & Leopold could grab a spot in the list.
Also, I just really want to write a female Jason Bourne. I know he’s not SF, per se, but have my bonus random thought anyway.
Short Stories
I really just want to master the short story. I remember writing something once and it had taken me around 10,000 words for me to get into the actual story. Forcing me to cut that down into little chunks would be good for my writing. Also, it means more stories for you.
More Novels
What else but more books? If I sat down and pulled all my paper scraps from around the place, I’m probably sitting on 50 – 60 book ideas. Some of these I’m going to write with friends under a pen name, just to explore a few other genres we’ve both wanted to dip our toes into. A lot of them will just be Belinda Missen stories; cheesy like a toastie.
In fact, I was working on one today that’s been festering since about 2016, well before my publishing contract. And it won’t see the light of day until well after it, either, but I just adore the story, the banter, the comic timing between the leads, and lots of squishy feels. It’s going to be awesome.
Journaling
This is something I think would be great from a mental health perspective. I’m not sure if it will be an online thing, or a pen and paper thing. Watch this space, I guess.
How about you? Are you currently co-writing? How are you finding it? I’m super curious as to how you both manage it.
Have you swapped genres and loved it? Loathed it? Talk to me. Leave a comment.
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