Excuses Are Lame, But They're All I Have

I still haven't written anything. Why is it that the life I have keeps getting in the way of the life I want? I won't go into any of it here, mostly it's just lame excuses anyway and if I were a more diligent writer (or really any kind of writer) I'd write in spite of the other stuff that goes on, or even because of it...

Words Written: 0

So, I've made absolutely no progress on my writing project. Part of that is because of my current living situation. I've been living with a roommate for a while now, and the house is too small for both of us. I have too much stuff crammed into too small a space and the tiny desk I have room for in my bedroom is entirely too small to be able to sit at and type or use my laptop comfortably. In three weeks I move and I'll be able to use my bigger desk and I'll have more room to spread out. Not to mention that I'll actually have the place to myself so there won't be so many interruptions and interferences with my writing.

I have had a couple of ideas crop up that I might be able to use. The funny part is that they lean toward fantasy rather than romance or mystery. Probably because that's what I've been reading lately. I never really thought of myself as a fantasy reader, but I discovered that there's a very short jump between paranormal romance and urban fantasy. From the urban fantasy I branched out into the more traditional realms of fantasy. That's mostly due to Patricia Briggs. And Amazon.

Amazon recommended Patricia Briggs' Mercedes Thompson series based on previous purchases (I can't remember right now which books led them to that). I read them and, of course, loved them. So, being me, that meant I then had to buy and read all of her back list. Which then led me to the fantasy genre. So far I'm still a little more drawn to the Urban fantasy, but I like the traditional stuff too. I haven't yet read much of it, I need to look for a few more suggestions in that area I think.

Anyway, this is my writing blog, so to bring it back on track, what I was saying is that I've had a couple of ideas. The first one is what if my main character woke up one day to discover her town mostly deserted? I don't yet know why it would be deserted, but I know that she and the few survivors would team up to try to figure out what's going on and how to fix it. They'd fight some sort of supernatural bad guy and win the day. Because my roots are in romance, and stories always feel less than complete to me if they don't have a hint of romance in them, there would of course be a handsome hero-type for the heroine to fall for.

Idea #2 is semi-similar. The town wouldn't necessarily be deserted in this one, but people would begin to act really oddly. The reason for this would be that the pantheon of Greek Gods and Goddesses have just been woken (probably by some cult or other) and tossed the world into chaos as they struggled for supremacy among themselves. Again there would be a strong romantic subplot. This is the idea I'm leaning toward right now, because the research would be minimal for me. If there's anything I know a lot about, it's Greek mythology. Don't ask me why, it's just something that always captured my imagination. You'd think I would have discovered the fantasy genre long before now, wouldn't you?

Anyway, in 3 weeks I move, and hopefully that will put me in a position to be able to get serious about my writing. If nothing else, the commute to work will be a lot shorter, so I'll have more time!

The Purpose of this Blog

I haven't really started my novel yet, but I want to, so since I get so bored at work and have access to the Internet, I figured I might as well create this blog, so I'll have access to it here and at home to type up whatever little pieces of story come to mind. Hopefully, eventually I'll have enough pieces to start to put together an actual novel.

I don't even know yet what kind of story I want to write. I primarily read romance, so you'd think that would be an obvious choice, but every time I try to start writing a romance, it seems so trite. The other genre I read often is mystery. I think a mystery might be easier for me to do, except that means I'd have to actually plot it out first and try to stick to it. Or not, from what I've read on published authors' blogs the process is different for everyone. I'd think with a mystery though, you'd have to have a pretty good idea of what was happening and where everyone is at all times, so you can avoid any inconsistencies when you have the denouement at the end. If you say it was Miss Scarlet in the Conservatory with the Candlestick, you have to have laid the groundwork that Miss Scarlet could have been in the Conservatory and had access to the Candlestick at the time of the murder. If you've accidentally said she was with Colonel Mustard in the Billiards Room where there are no Candlesticks at that time, you've got a mess on your hands that you'll have to go back and fix. And I know from the different writing projects I've done over the years for school or fun or whatever, that if I change one thing, the next thing needs to change and the next and then you end up with something else you have to fix for continuity's sake.

Anyway, all of that to say if I'm going to write a mystery I'll have to have a good idea of who's doing what to whom and when before I actually start writing. A lot of that I'll post here, so I'll have an easily located record of thoughts I've had about the story or snippets of conversations characters might have or whatever I might think up pertaining to the story from wherever I happen to be at the time. Home, work, Mom and Dad's, my sister's house, wherever. I can access this blog and post to it whenever from wherever. I really like this idea.