Thursday, December 18, 2014

What Next?

Debra ponders what project to dive into next.

I'm in a bit of a quandary right now. My latest project received a release date earlier this week. One Great Night will make its way onto the cyber shelves in mid-January. Usually at this point I have something else in the hopper I'm working on. This time, not so much. In fact, not at all.

Oh I have a couple of ideas that have been percolating here and there, but nothing has stood out to grab my undivided attention to begin working on in earnest.

There's the new three-book series I've brainstormed. In my mind I envision these as full-length novels. And for whatever reason, the thought of writing not one, not two, but three 60,000+ word novels is daunting. I have no idea why. I've already written one series, plus two other stand alone full-lengths. But I'm a bit intimidated at the moment by the thought of needing to write that many words again.

I've always wanted to do some spin-off novellas from my Corral Series. Nothing involving the main characters at all, but just something to allow me (and hopefully my readers) to revisit a place I love. First I thought of doing a calendar theme, then I thought of doing a drink theme, but now I'm wondering if I should do a holiday theme: something like "Holidays at the Corral".

Because I also have a couple ideas for another Christmas novella and a New Years novella spinning around. Why not kill two birds with one stone?

And then I have a vague outline I've written for a time travel I'd like to give a try. This would definitely be a new direction for me. But can I tackle the research needed to make the historical portion accurate and authentic?

Finally, I have the basic beginnings of a contemporary novella that would fit with TWRP's Champagne Rose "Millionaire" imprint. To complicate this one, I 'borrowed' the hero's name for my Halloween novella, so I need to come up with another one for this hero.

Maybe there's just too much going on in my head. Maybe my biggest problem is no matter what I do, I'm really starting from scratch. And a blank white screen and a flashing curser are enough to scare me away from my computer. Plus I'm feeling a bit of pressure (initiated solely by myself) to continue to have at least one book released each year.

I'm sure I'll figure something out.

But in the mean time...I've managed to scramble my brain into quite a dilemma.

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

6 comments:

  1. It sounds like you have a fertile field to plow, Debra. Christmas vacation is just the right time to sow some test plots ...er. chapters.

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    1. I was thinking the time off will be a good time to clear my head of other things and see what happens with my writing.

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  2. Those are some fantastic ideas, but if none of them strike your fancy, what about looking around for some writing prompts and just tackling those? You might find yourself inspired in a particular direction you either hadn't considered or hadn't known how to start.

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    1. That's a good idea, Jen. At least it would get some words flowing.

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  3. You have lots of possible projects there, Debra. I think I'd make a list of the pros and cons of each one, and see which one has the most pros - or the least cons! Or try writing one scene from each, and see which grabs your attention most!

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  4. Hmn? A scene from each is also a good idea. A teaser to see what's working and strikes a chord...I like it!

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