Monday, April 13, 2009

YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED...

I really haven't been posting here very much. It's been very intermittent. I am not living up to my promises (my Crap Jobs Tuesday, my Sunday Confession) and I haven't said hello or left comments for...well, anybody, really.
I've been feeling pretty lost, and feeling like this has just turned into a place for me to bitch and whine about the stupid parts of my life (guess what? everyone else has a job, and a family...why would anyone want to read about mine?) so it is time (soon!) to move on. I am planning to start a new blog elsewhere, as soon as I get a central theme set in stone. I'll definitely post the address here, so my (few) readers can follow (if you want!)

In the meantime, I am finally (finally, as in, after more than 10 years) starting in on a novel. As silly as that sounds (doesn't everyone say they are going to write "a novel") it finally feels right. The other day, I was at work, bored and frustrated that I could not come up with an idea that really was original (I could have written a novel years ago with the same plot as that "17 Again" movie that is coming out...why didn't I? Um, laziness, I guess), that wasn't cheesy as all hell (then again, many authors of many cheesy books have enjoyed bestseller status and movie versions), or that didn't bore me after a few chapters (ADD, I guess). I started writing a list of words and the feelings that those things, or even just those words, evoked, and remembered something that happened a few years ago, and suddenly, the entire framework of a story appeared on my sparkly pink notebook.
I'm sure I will probably throw small pieces of it up on http://piecesofnote.blogspot.com (which I will keep up, and hopefully update sometimes...so if you like to read fiction at all, please follow or I will get discouraged and bored and stop posting there) but I will throw them in the mix, so nobody really realizes that they are tiny parts of the novel (for several reasons).
I realized a few things: one, I spent WAY too much time worrying about genre (if I go with psychological suspense/mystery, can I cross over to something else later?) and kind of overlooked the fact that I can combine a few "genres" and come up with something infinitely better than if I tried to stay within boundaries; two, I have to be somewhat organized but let myself write parts as they come to me without worrying about chronology until I get closer to finishing.
So there. Hopefully in the next few weeks, I will have something new up and running, and I will start posting on piecesofnote.blogspot.com again.

3 comments:

Shasta said...

I am so glad that you are feeling that it is time for the novel. You are so talented, this will be a great step for you. Forget about the whole genre business, just write what feels "right", if that makes any sense. You know I'd love to buy an advance copy when it is available!

Coco said...

Aww, thanks!
This is looking like a drawn-out project, and I have no idea how to go about publishing (besides self-publishing, which is not as fabulous, you know?)Who knows...maybe I will have something sooner than I expect.

Chloe said...

Good for you, Shannon. Blogging isn't for everyone- meaning that it might or might not be the best way for you to express yourself. I like reading your blog posts, but I also understand what it's like to struggle for content at times which sucks- blogs are very demanding and needy. Sometimes I like that about blogging, othertimes it's a pain in the tookus.

I actually know someone in publishing, you can find him over at eddieschneider.com. If he can't help you, he might know someone who can! I've been friends with Eddie since high school, he came to my wedding reception (he lived in Denver briefly) and he's an awesome guy. You can go here:

JABberwocky Literary Agencyto see the company he works for in NYC and the type of material they're looking for. Hope to have helped, Shannon!