The difficulty I currently have is to choose which of the few different writing projects to work on is a fine thing, as far as problems go. I have a variety of ideas for new books, some of which emerged but were forgotten, others are in the earliest stages, which not much happening as yet. And there is another one, that I would love to have happen, but not sure on my abilities to actually get it done …
And so, with this ’embarrassment of riches’, I need to find a useful way to decide on the hows and whens of getting the relevant writing done. There is one project with the book already written, and accepted by a publisher. I just have to wait for them to do the necessary work on that one, nothing more for me to do until the book is available, around the middle of 2022.
Then there is a non fiction book I’ve blogged about a couple of years ago, but I’d totally forgotten about it, and don’t know at all what it was about, except for what I’d written in the blog post. So it was non fiction, and other writers had in some way or ways been the prompt for it, whatever ‘it’ was. I suspect I’d be wise to just step away from thinking about that one, until, or unless I can remember more about it.
There’s a children’s picture book idea, that I’ve written a little bit about elsewhere, and I truly hope I can do more about this idea, when the time feel right for it. At the moment, I have a title (having a title is usually important for me, to get my ‘back-brain’ working). So there are ideas for illustrations, which are actually going to be photographs, I hope. I’ve written notes, as I said, and if I can set aside time to work more on the words the book will need, that will help hugely.
But now doesn’t feel like the time for that … When will be the time, I wonder? Once things are cooler outside? It’s Summer, it’s hot, and I don’t feel like wondering around the place outside, taking photographs with my phone camera. Things seem too ‘glarey’. This book is going to be written in rhyme, and in those notes, from memory, I indicated the rhyming format, so that’s on the way to being organised. I just have to write it, then get the pics to go with it. Simple. But not yet …
But the thing I’ve put the most work into, is going to be my biggest personal writing thing for this year. And it’s a thing I won’t be doing all by myself. This one is going to be an anthology, based on the words that make up the title. I’ve published an anthology previously, last year in fact, and the title of that anthology, “Plague Invasion” hit me in the head, and I had an overwhelming feeling that this was a thing I must do. So that is what I spent a large part of 2020 and half of 2021 doing. Putting out the call for submissions, gathering the other needed bits and pieces, and then going about the business of having the book printed.
I didn’t get that hit in the head for the anthology title this time, and don’t have the same sense of compulsion, but once I’d made the decision on subject matter, and then title for this book, I felt a settled feeling of ‘Yes, that’s what I’m going to do.’ So I decided what I’d do late last year, and mentioned it to a few other writing colleagues, to make my mind firmer on the project, and a few days ago, on this blog, I put out the submission details.
If you wish to know more, this is where you can read more about it. I know what I want, but not specifically and exactly what. I’m hoping that, as with the previous call for submissions, where I trusted I would receive just the perfect things, I’d receive works that I could put together and achieve that marvellous thing, where the some of the parts come together to create a bigger and better whole!
The anthology will have three things “Climate, Change, and Climate Change”, and that is in fact the title of the anthology. Those wishing to submit work will write about some or all of those things, either as prose, or poetry.
So this anthology is going to be my biggest writing project for the beginning of 2022, and after it is launched, the work of marketing happens. Never my best point, but so be it. I will learn how to do that better, as I do this more and more. I hope so anyway! You learn by doing, that’s what they say, isn’t it?
And once the anthology is well under way, with Summer over, and my favourite month of Autumn, with cooler weather, photographs for that picture book can happen, and i can work on the text for that book, and for the needed setting out of the ideas onto an order that works best. That is the kind of work that can fit in between doing other things, and so that one will slowly come together, and who knows, perhaps that one can be the book I hve published in 2023!
And of course there is the book I’ve been working on for what feels like forever, still hanging around, with tiny extra bits added to the novel, when a given writing prompt from my writing group gives me an idea that could fit in to the plot. I had planned to try to become a noted writer of cosy murder mystery books, and make a fortune, but at the rate I’m going I may never even get this first one finished, let alone published.
I am having fun with it though, and that’s important isn’t it? I think so. Having a good time with your writing is the thing that will keep you coming back to it, the thing that keeps your bum on the seat as you write or type your way to better writing! The more you write, the better your writing can get.
So there you are, my year of writing set out, with rest breaks and ideas, and you never know, another idea could come along and bump all the rest off the table, and go on to be the best seller I’ve dreamed of one day writing!
Carolyn Cordon - Writer 