And now, for an unexpected plot twist!
The shininess of a new idea.
This morning, as I was biking to work, this idea just popped into my head and effectively said, “Hi there. I’m here. And now that I’m here, you will think of nothing else.”
The idea was sparked by a movie I recently saw, and also a book I read last year, as well as TV show I watched two years ago. These three pieces of media have stuck with me for different reasons. The idea came from all of them, plus some other stuff mixed in.
That’s just how ideas work. They appear seemingly out of nowhere. When really, your brain has been cranking on them for awhile.
This idea. I’m still thinking about it. It’s for a new book. A novel. It’s kind of weird, pretty out there. The most I’m willing to say is that it’s speculative fiction. But I’m really excited about it and later in the day when I had a moment, I opened a blank document and let myself dream on my new book idea for about 15 minutes. I wrote the jacket copy. Brainstormed a few titles. Tinkered a bit with what this could become.
For a long time, I’ve been thinking that when I finish this memoir, I’d like to try to write fiction. How fun it would be to create new characters, imagine a from-scratch story, create something out of nothing. No more going back to my own memories and wrenching meaning out of them. Fiction can be anything! Really, a n y t h i n g! Endless possibilities. But what, exactly, would I write? I had no ideas. Not until today.
Though I’m excited about this idea and think it has legs, I’m not going to write this book right now. Not yet. I have unfinished business with my memoir. To put it aside and chase a shiny new idea is not my style. (That’s something my Dad would’ve done. Something my Dad did do. Our home was a graveyard of his unfinished projects.)
I’ve just returned to my manuscript to revise it, and I’m pleasantly surprised by how easy it’s been feeling. I kind of forgot how much I like to revise. Revision is a slog when you don’t know what’s wrong with the material and don’t know how to fix it. But I think I do know. These early stages of revision have been energizing. So energizing that it’s sparking new ideas that aren’t even about the book I’m working on.
Maybe this idea will fizzle out at some point, maybe not. I’ve got my document if I want to come back to it. For now I’m just savoring the excitement of a new idea. Maybe I will dream about it tonight.
More from Betsy
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so exciting, those stages in the process...