Deciding what to write... why is this so hard for me?

You know, I married the first man who asked me -- at 18. Still married to him. I mean, really, I'm pretty tenacious.

So why do I keep veering from one book to another??? I have gotten into a bad pattern of starting stories and losing interest about page 20. So I have about five books going right now, none very well. I generally don't "catch fire" with a book until I've got a lot written, but these days, I'm not getting that far and so nothing is getting finished.

However, I've decided to "write short"-- not assume that I'm only going to write full-length novels, or that every idea has to be developed into 300 pages. That's been liberating! In fact, I think with web-based publishing, we're going to see more linked short stories, like a series of short episodes featuring one character or a group of characters.


So here are two I'm kind of working on, and there's not much connecting them, except short-linked aspect and I guess the mystery angle (I'll do the other in a later post, once I figure out what the heck is wrong with the RSS feed contraption over there):

1) Silver Savories. (I'm sure I'll come up with a better series title. I hope,anyway. I'm just using that so I can stop referring to my "Meals on Wheels books" because no doubt that term is trademarked.)

I deliver Meals on Wheels, and it's always been an interesting volunteer job because I interact with older people who sometimes tell me about their lives. And it's frequently surprising what they reveal-- that sweet old white-haired lady was a Rockette, and that gentlemanly fellow played guitar in an early rock band.

Anyway, everyone I pitch this idea to thinks it's going to be really boring! But I am starting a series of shorter stories, maybe novella length (say, 70 pages) where the heroine delivers meals and gets involved in mysteries. I'm thinking of keeping this sort of cozy, not violent, not even mostly murder. Right now I'm trying to figure out HER-- why does she have time for this volunteer work? How old is she?

I want a bit of romance, so I think I'll make her divorced (no, the romance is not with the 90-year-old guys, but maybe one of their nephews :). (But you know, she could also sort of matchmake the old rocker with the old Rockette!)

And I think I'll make her retire young and have no money worries. What the heck. Wish fulfillment Like she was involved in some internet startup and got a lot of stock and cashed in and is set for life.

Jenny Brown (a friend, and here on Goodreads) has told me I should write some small-town stories, with a kind of idealized setting. Well, I grew up in a lovely college town (Blacksburg, VA), and maybe I'll go with that, and have her ex-husband a prominent politician in the town, like a judge or mayor, and her son a police officer in the little police department.

Hey, it's not too boring, is it? Well, I guess it's my job to make it interesting.

I thought maybe the first one would have the Russian mafia in it. Hmm. Maybe not. But that's a good idea for a later story. She's delivering a meal to this nice old Russian gentleman, and it turns out he's ex-KGB!

Okay, okay. Back to the rocker-Rockette romance. :)
Anyone know why the RSS button gets me a notice that the XML is wrong? And why Google Reader won't pick it up?
Alicia