I really am quite fickle. Or perhaps that should be fastidious. Since my last post I have been very focused on an idea for a new AI-related story and, in a different approach to my usual novel planning, I started to create a thorough ‘bible’ of character back stories for the protagonist and antagonist. These were quite detailed and as I progressed, it became clear that, in my mind, these back-stories were far more than might be needed for a single story. I continued, both because it is a fascinating exercise and as I felt there really was enough mileage in the characters to create more than one narrative. As those of you who have read previous posts will know, one element of my writing that I sometimes bemoan is the fact that I don’t have a particular genre, and as my novels are standalone, it doesn’t make for easy marketing (no sequels or series here, move along). As I expanded my backstories it because clear that I had a potential genre of cosy crime, a potential link to a previous novel, and two really interesting characters. In fact, too interesting. Revieving what I’d written to date, and to take full advantage of the two characters, they really need to be in separate stories, and my detective isn’t quite the right fit tonally for the crime I planned to commit in fiction. Bugger.
So, I’m currently plotting two parallel crime stories, either of which has the potential to become a series. And I’ve only written about 5000 words of actual story, as I’m so fixated on the bible backstories. So that’s where I’ve been!
Stay safe,
Kit xxx