“I HAVE AN IDEA”
I wrote in various genres before coming to historical crime fiction. I also wrote poetry extensively from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s. My education was in film-making and screen writing. I have also dabbled in short plays. To me, these are just the vehicles for doing what a writer primarily does: tell stories.
I have been writing historical crime fiction since 2016. With the exception of entries in writing contests, my focus has been largely on that genre. It is my hope that such concentration has allowed me to develop my craft. However, it is the craft of writing itself, exclusive of any genre, that must be developed.
Certainly, there is a part of me that has developed a comfort level. You know, take your series character and determine the next step in their life; figure out a good case to work on; do whatever significant research is required; and write the next installment. It’s just that these ideas keep popping into my head. Some of them are ideas from the past that get stuck like a piece of popcorn in your teeth. Others are like flashing lights that burst out of nowhere.
They are too significant to put them aside completely. You wouldn’t tell one child you are too busy with the other child. On top of having ideas, I have files. Not digital ones. Good old-fashioned paper ones.
A manilla folder marked WIP. Except they aren’t Works; they’re Ideas. And they’re not really In Progress, more like In Stasis. (IIS doesn’t have the same ring as WIP!) Nevertheless, the ideas that are more profound, that go off with a bigger bang, are worth a little scribbling on any available scrap of paper. Perhaps there’s a title at the top or just as likely not. Then into the manila folder they go.
It’s the same with recipes. I find one online, save it somewhere, determined if it’s worthwhile to print up, then put it in my regular binder to make one day. I routinely go through the binder as I plan menus. I also purge usually twice a year. What started out as an intriguing meal MIGHT wind up in the trash.
The real point is I don’t let what I’m working on block out other ideas that may be viable at some point in time. We can’t save all of them. We certainly can’t write all of them. While it is possible that mental deterioration can impact all people, one hopes to have the ability to either retain or come up with new ideas as long as one is exercising the creative portion of the brain.
Ooh, that reminds me of another idea.
