Yup. It’s the new year so am tempted to start yet another novel without finishing the last half-written ones. Yes, I know that’s breaking the cardinal rule of writing but I’m still stuck in a rut and none of the wip are inspiring me to commit. I was explaining to my sister over Xmas that one of the big blocks I have is knowing that, as much as enjoy writing and creating, a novel is a big commitment. Having been through the process numerous times now, the fun part of the weeks spent on the initial draft, and the months spent on redrafting, and even the editing (which I know lots of people hate), so you need to be able to believe you’ll keep your enthusiasm and passion for the story that long. But sadly that’s the short part of the journey. After the faff of proofing, line editing, design and production, even if you opt for the self-published route, this is when the real work begins. The attempts at marketing, promotion, can be fun in part, but the slog of social media promotion, the game you have to play, in order to try and get reviews and just the chance of a potential reader is incredibly hard work, and more than anything, so time-consuming and takes you away from the pleasure of writing or reading. As I’ve mentioned before, my novels are rather good (if I do say so myself), but they aren’t in a particular genre, so repeat readers are hard to attract back. No-one is coming to see what happened next to a character in the next instalment if every book is standalone. All of which is my roundabout way of saying I’m left with two choices. First, I write solely for pleasure, for my own benefit, with no prospect of anyone enjoying the fruits of my work, except perhaps one or two friends and some fellow authors who enjoyed earlier work. Which means it would be very difficult and need a huge amount of self-discipline to be able to concentrate on redrafting and editing, knowing it would be for practically naught. The other option is to try and find a balance project which I can enthuse myself over sufficiently, but which might have sufficient appeal to make the slog of marketing and promoting worthwhile, and while might garner fans, and which might work as a franchise (or genre) to get returning custom. Sorry to be so clinical about this, but it is, after all, the book business.
So, after all that, I’m basically explaining that I’m tempted by a new idea I’ve had, which might fit the criteria, and might be fun to write. It probably wouldn’t be my number on passion project, but to draw a type of parallel, Roald Dahl hated kids, but did okay from his books for them, and many other authors work in their less favoured areas, as that is what enables them to keep their profile as an writer in the hope that they’ll get to succeed with their preferred fiction.
So yes, I’m thinking about a new story (or series of stories). I’ve mentioned ideas for crime fiction before, but to be honest, none of the premises really gripped me, were original enough, or had enough legs to sustain both extended narratives and reader interest, and of course, my own enthusiasm. I’m still tinkering with this idea but it might, just might, be what I need for the next phase of writing.
Stay safe,
Kit xxx