Sometimes I sit back and ask myself, “Why am I writing? What have I got to say that is worth the time of any other person on the planet? Where do I belong in the literary scheme of things?”
Here is an epiphany I had today, which also explains why I am having so much trouble with my work in progress, The Bend of the River. We already know that I write fantasy–this is not a revelation. But my current book has more of a crime-solving vibe to it. This is not something I write well, and I’ve put in a lot of time for a product of which I am not very proud. Why? Because it is not much of a fantasy, and fantasy is what I have best to offer.
My three books–Soul Lost, People of the Green Hills, and Nick–all have to do with life righting itself. Each of these books is about a woman who does not belong in her life, and her journey to find the place where she does belong. Each of these have a special place that exists just outside of the real world–in it but not of it, if you will. They are all places where I want to go, that I wish really existed.
Okay, so now that I know this, how do I use it to create a writing career? I don’t want to think that I have written all I have to write, but where do I go from here?
I do have a short story, “Bruises,” that is also about life righting itself. I haven’t found a home for it yet, but I’m really proud of it and I know that I will some day.
I have another WIP that I started for NaNoWriMo year before last that has a lot of potential. Tentatively titled “The Haunting of Henry High,” it is based on another short story that was fun to write. It also has to do with a wrong being put right, a pair of star-crossed lovers who have to wait until they are ghosts to be together.
I’m sensing a pattern here.
Can this revelation save The Bend of the River, the not-so-great crime novel? I really like the main characters, and it is a sequel to People of the Green Hills, filled with background characters for whom I have a lot of affection. Hmmm…this requires some more deep thought.
Wish me luck.
