It's almost 2am (which is actually not that late for me #nightowl) but I can't sleep, because getting my brain to shut off lately is hard. Really hard.
My dr thinks I may have ADHD...I don't like that they call it that now. I feel like it's more like ADD cause this tired gal doesn't feel the H lol. But alas, I jump from hobby to hobby and I have a lot of junk in my house to prove it and never enough time to do the smallest fraction of what I want. I'm an INFP personality-I love to create. Learn-Create-Share-Repeat. That's why I've done Youtube videos so much for the last few years. I love the challenge of doing new things, and sharing knowledge. I don't plan to give it up, but I'm in a major lull. I have ideas and supplies, I just don't wanna! It's not the obsession de jour. I have lots of footage just sitting on my SD card and laptop....oh boy...some day. It's also why I got obsessed with escape rooms this year. Creating my own. It was tons of fun, lots of investment-time and money. And then Covid happened :-/ and the locks and puzzles sit there unused and while I could use this time to productively create, my brain has moved onto the next thing. I hope I loop back to my other passions, time will tell.
What was I saying? Oh yeah, easily distracted much? so...squirrel...writing a book! I'm excited and just finished the first rough draft of my first ever book. I thought this may be a helpful thing to share (cause learn-create-share right?) for anyone else wanting to dip their toes in the water and ride the wave of authorship. I'll do my best to explain my process (It's pretty darn thorough!) and I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. I may end up making YT videos on the topics down the road too. But I can only wear so many hats at a time....
Firstly, background on my history and qualifications to write a novel.
Um....it's maybe a bit slim. I have a Bachelors of Science degree...nothing to do with English and composition, though I obviously remember some of them. I'll be honest, I didn't always love those classes. Lord of the flies in high school? Hated it. While I can't handle the sin of wrong "their, there, they're" placement, I'm BFFs with run-on sentences and know the proper use of a semi-colon as well as I do my 1st cousin twice removed. So....the technical stuff will be a struggle, especially when it comes to proper placement of dialogue vs narration. All foreign, but I'm up to the challenge. Learn-Create-Share-Repeat. Should I change the name of my blog? Probably. Sorry, I'm not usually this crazy. We're going to blame it on chronic exhaustion ok?
Back to background...I am not a great book reader. I have an impressive bookshelf full of books I never read. I've read most of them but it has been years. I had a window where I devoured books. But like all of my interests, that one went away. I can't imagine sitting and reading all day. I feel like I'll get bored easily. I guess I haven't given it a try recently enough, but I feel like I'd fall asleep. I create or I blob, those are my two levels of energy. So consuming as opposed to creating when I feel up to doing anything, it's a sacrifice I'm not usually willing to make. That sounds like a horrible backstory for an author doesn't it? Either way...it is what it is. I'm honest and upfront to a fault if you can't tell. As for my writing experience...I enjoyed writing for the school paper in high school and I've written poetry throughout the years. I think that pretty much sums up my qualifications. Does that sound pathetic to you? Good news is that means you're probably not going to struggle as much as I will lol.
Second...what to share?
I obviously don't want to give any spoilers or subject myself to having original ideas taken, so there will be some things I am vague on. But there's a lot I can share. (Trust me, friends are tired of hearing about it, so I'm glad I now have you to launch my process on that I'm so excited about lol)
I would categorize my first book generally as science fiction. More specifically post-apocalyptic. But not dystopian. I thought those were synonymous and boy was I wrong. Not that I haven't enjoyed them, but Divergent, Hunger Games, The Giver, The Mazerunner....I just feel like that poor horse needs a break from being beaten. In this first draft it dances closely to a classification in romance as well, but since the focus isn't to have two people get together, I'm not pegging it that way. The relationships that form and how much they are in focus are most definitely a tool to tell the story. If there wasn't love, there would be a way to get stuff done, I just wouldn't like the characters as much and I think it would make them limp, weak, and socially repugnant pawns.
I already know, this is not a stand-alone book. I am expecting to write a series of 3. While fun, it might not be as marketable in the story formats I have in mind. I'm not planning a sequential format like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings where it is chronologically laid out. I guess in a way it's more Narnia....ish. Not the movies, but beyond that where you jump around and have different characters, different times. There will be a minimum overlap of characters and the same scientific premise continuity to link them as a series. But it's not book-sequal-prequal or anything like that. The third is likely to not be written in traditional 3rd person at all.
That being said, where did the idea come from?! Not quitting my day job to become a full-time author and pump out books for a living, I'm not scratching at ideas to try and break the mold, be the next trend setter. This book series is purely out of my dreams. I have a sheet of paper that I wrote out some notes on a few years ago. I have a lot of dreams. A lot of times, to my detriment because I feel like I was running a marathon all night and feel completely unrested, or for more serious and terrifying ones, I can have a real bad funk hanging over my head all day. I tried for a little while to do a dream journal. I really should be more diligent about it because there are some vivid gems out there. I have others that I know I want to write. Either way, this particular one was all written on one page. I took notes on the 2nd in the series on the back, but I don't remember if that was actually part of the dream. The 3rd is just a concept that I have thought of while writing the first. There are some very unique struggles that come with turning dreams into full books. I think that will be the topic of my next post.
I know this has been a crazy wacky post, but it gives some premise and I hope to see some writers joining me along the way :D
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