A New Project
02/07/09 19:17 Filed in: Writing
The other day I had a chat with my friend Ross,
author of the highly successful novel
Tainted. This book, his first medical
thriller, has apparently sold out its first printing
and is now under order for a second printing. Cool.
During this conversation, Ross told me he simply could not deal with the number of projects I currently have underway: he'd prefer to focus on one completely, get it done, then move on. Considering he's now published and in the "highly successful" category, I had to admit that his approach is probably better than my scattershot, multiple project approach.
So what did I do? I immediately went out and started a new project. To add to all the others. In case you've forgotten, here's what I'm working on from a writing standpoint: 1) Phillip Gold, The Silent Goodbye, a novel; 2) Abigail Massey at McAdam Station, a collection of short stories for young readers (ages 9 to 12 or so); 3) the Harry Potter Concordance; 4) The Way Forward, a Rowling-world novel; and 5) this blog.
I'm going to keep the new project something of a secret for now, considering the ones I do talk about never seem to get done. Suffice it to say, it is inspired by how much I enjoy writing the Abigail Massey stories and it will feature a protagonist who is named after two of my favourite people: her name will be Emily St. Clare. That's not to say that my character will in any way resemble Emily or Clare but I like the names and I like the way they come together.
With regard to a status update on the projects, here goes:
The Silent Goodbye: I have written more than 50,000 words of it and recently completed a fairly detailed plot plan for the remainder of the novel. I have dabbled with writing the remainder and will make this a focus for the remainder of the year;
Abigail Massey at McAdam Station: I have written 12 of these stories which, when counted together, total approximately 45,000 words. I am in the process of drafting query letters to several Canadian publishers of children and young people's fiction with the hopes of finding someone to take the project on. I also dream of the stories one day forming the basis for a family television comic drama, in the style of Road to Avonlea and Anne of Green Gables;
Harry Potter Concordance: this is a personal pet project that I'm doing simply for my own enjoyment. I'm part way through The Goblet of Fire and having a great time with it. But it is slow work;
The Way Forward: Despite a very impressive burst of energy when I started it, this project has lost some steam. I will likely get back to it at some point but it is strictly back-burner for now.
This blog: as long as I enjoy writing it, which I do, I'll keep doing it.
In the meantime, I have started posting simple videos on Youtube under the user name "markwwnb": so far, two short, silent vids of Marlee Marie, our puppy.
So I've got a lot on the go, creatively. That's on top of life, the universe and everything.
And I've come to accept that, even with a clear picture in front of me of a brown and white bird with streaks and speckles, I am incapable of identifying it using bird books like Peterson's. I'm hopeless.
During this conversation, Ross told me he simply could not deal with the number of projects I currently have underway: he'd prefer to focus on one completely, get it done, then move on. Considering he's now published and in the "highly successful" category, I had to admit that his approach is probably better than my scattershot, multiple project approach.
So what did I do? I immediately went out and started a new project. To add to all the others. In case you've forgotten, here's what I'm working on from a writing standpoint: 1) Phillip Gold, The Silent Goodbye, a novel; 2) Abigail Massey at McAdam Station, a collection of short stories for young readers (ages 9 to 12 or so); 3) the Harry Potter Concordance; 4) The Way Forward, a Rowling-world novel; and 5) this blog.
I'm going to keep the new project something of a secret for now, considering the ones I do talk about never seem to get done. Suffice it to say, it is inspired by how much I enjoy writing the Abigail Massey stories and it will feature a protagonist who is named after two of my favourite people: her name will be Emily St. Clare. That's not to say that my character will in any way resemble Emily or Clare but I like the names and I like the way they come together.
With regard to a status update on the projects, here goes:
The Silent Goodbye: I have written more than 50,000 words of it and recently completed a fairly detailed plot plan for the remainder of the novel. I have dabbled with writing the remainder and will make this a focus for the remainder of the year;
Abigail Massey at McAdam Station: I have written 12 of these stories which, when counted together, total approximately 45,000 words. I am in the process of drafting query letters to several Canadian publishers of children and young people's fiction with the hopes of finding someone to take the project on. I also dream of the stories one day forming the basis for a family television comic drama, in the style of Road to Avonlea and Anne of Green Gables;
Harry Potter Concordance: this is a personal pet project that I'm doing simply for my own enjoyment. I'm part way through The Goblet of Fire and having a great time with it. But it is slow work;
The Way Forward: Despite a very impressive burst of energy when I started it, this project has lost some steam. I will likely get back to it at some point but it is strictly back-burner for now.
This blog: as long as I enjoy writing it, which I do, I'll keep doing it.
In the meantime, I have started posting simple videos on Youtube under the user name "markwwnb": so far, two short, silent vids of Marlee Marie, our puppy.
So I've got a lot on the go, creatively. That's on top of life, the universe and everything.
And I've come to accept that, even with a clear picture in front of me of a brown and white bird with streaks and speckles, I am incapable of identifying it using bird books like Peterson's. I'm hopeless.