I’ve been noodling around about what I’d like to publish next. I’ve got a bazillion books (approximate figure only) partway done, but none of them is exactly jumping up and down and screaming, “Pick me, pick me,” at the moment. What to do…what do do…
I thought it might be helpful to get some outside viewpoints. Namely, yours, gentle readers. So here are my choices, along with the pros and cons of each. Weigh in, won’t you, and let me know which you think is my next best book?
1. Down on the Farm: A collection of short stories about women on farms. We have Maggie, a young mother who lives on a dairy farm until one day, when it all goes horribly wrong. We have some the story of Casanova, my sister, and me. We have the story of the birds in the strawstack, and what happened to them. We have the story of the Water Witch. We have the story of baling in the early morning. These are stories and mood pieces which capture a bit of the flavor of ranch life through the eyes of women.
2. Seeing Daddy Out: A memoir of a year in my life, when I had to face the reality of my dad’s death when I had yet to come to terms with his life. It’s a book about loving, and losing, and betrayal, learning to be on my own, and ultimately, finding my way back to loving. A lot happened that year.
3. The Rosemont Car: My grandfather’s life, as I knew it through the lens of his stories–and through his love and acceptance. So far this is written like a play to be read, but it could be converted.
4. A sequel to Good On Paper: This centers on a new character, who buys the family farm and sort of inherits DJ, now that Jennifer’s in the pokey.
5. A gigantic, amorphous, untitled work that can’t decide if it wants to be horror, fantasy, steampunk, erotica, or what. What I’d need to do with this is pick one thread and develop it–I’ve got some nice kid stuff in there.
6. A middle reader fantasy about a girl (Jane Gray) who is so far a fun read–her family is far from ideal, but she just takes it in stride and fights back.
Throughout the next couple weeks, I’ll post up snippets of each, so you can judge fairly.
I can’t pick – mostly because I can’t make myself write on something just because I need to work on it. I am intrigued byt 6 but what do you feel drawn to? Maybe all of these need to be on the shelf for you to cogitate a bit more on them. Maybe you should start something completely new? What about an art book (you are an amazing artist) or something completely different like something you are teaching about?
I know this probably doesn’t help one ounce but I know for me if they aren’t calling and compelling me to write I generally don’t write…
Interesting ideas, Eileen–and you’re right about doing a book about teaching writing–I’ve been threatening to do that, but I wanted to wait until I had a full year’s worth of writing classes. However, since I’m teaching the two basic writing courses that precede college writing perhaps I’m there already.
Hi Bodie,
I’ve been ill for months, thus all the facebook games, thanks for being my friend there.
Your list is unique in each thread. As far as the one about your father, I think you are the only one who can judge if you’re ready for that emotional ride. I’m just guessing here, but the sequel would probably be the best investment of time. I have two separate series I’m working on. Both book 1 and 2 are published, as you probably know. So baring more health issues which has stalled my writing considerably, I hope to finish the next installment on my epic fantasy and do five childrens books this year. You will know about the epic since I’d love another book cover from you.
Best wishes,
Nancy
Happy to be your friend on Facebook–it’s fun seeing your avatar wandering around my castle! As for the memoir about my dad, it’s been more than ten years. I’ve done a lot of processing, and I feel like I’m ready to write that one. Nice to hear you’re working on your fantasy (and I like the idea of working on the sequel to GOP). I’d love to do your cover!
Down on the Farm is the one *I* feel most compelled by, though I know I’ll love whatever you write!
Well, the good news is that I’ll get to all of them eventually–I like the stories I haves for “Down on the Farm” a lot…so far my bar chart of audience preferences is not terribly informative…
I’m leaning towards Seeing Daddy Out
. It’s for personal reasons, I guess. Yup, I’d like to read snippets, if you can post them here.
Hey, Pepperrific–
First–I love your blog! I found it yesterday, but I have a feeling it’s going to turn into a regular stop. I think we must be operating on the same wavelength–last night I sat down and did some structural work on Seeing Daddy Out. I just typeset a book, a section of which gave me the piece I was lacking. What’s that? I’m glad you asked. It was the central issue, the question that will unify the book–the road, if you will, that the story follows from point A to point Z. After I finished typesetting that section I realized that that was what I was writing about all along. Now I can edit intelligently, to tell the story more compellingly. In the meantime, though, I’ll post up snippets for you.