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.