I’m not going to get into a lot about my current plot line ideas, or even the draft that I started working on last year. At least not yet. Since digging out my old notebooks full of novella/short story creations of my youth, I have been flipping through them and giggling at my ideas, structure and word choice and construction. It’s weird to see what I thought was an interesting topic!
Obviously, I needed more practice and wisdom to be honest. As a former English teacher whose favorite topics to teach were writing structure and grammar, I clearly had no idea what that was in middle or even high school. Anyone diagram sentences in school? Just staying that was my absolute favorite thing to teach! This is just all proof that time and experience can help develop any skill. Moral of this is to not give up.
I really thought I knew what I was doing. I remember writing these early stories. I simply just wrote. I didn’t brainstorm, create a story map, design characters prior, or even know where I was going with the story. I think I had a rough idea of how I wanted the story to end (happily ever after), but no clue as to the importance of a well developed conflict or in the power of stops throughout the rising action.
Some of my story titles I came up with for these notebook masterpieces are:
The Runaways
Can I Call This Home?
World’s Apart
Skating on Thin Ice
Beginning Over
There were a few others, but as I was flipping through the pages of the notebooks, these were the ones that stuck out to me. While skimming, I can definitely see some of my interests and childhood reflected in the words. I guess we really do write about things we know and understand, even more so when you yourself are young and trying to figure things out. So, for example, several of these books involve moving/leaving home. When I was growing up I went to seven different schools between Kindergarten and 7th grade. I understood moving.
Then, of course, you incorporate your interests. Skating on Thin Ice is all about figure skating. Bet you couldn’t figure that one out. I remember writing this one and wanting it to be my own take on a Nancy Drew style book. I, to this day, can not skate without shaking or wobbling, but I loved watching it on TV and learning all the moves. I also knew nothing about how to develop a mystery with clues and red herrings. Beginning Over was about a cheerleader who had to move schools in the middle of the school year. Growing up, I wanted to be a cheerleader, I’d watch all the competitions on TV. You know, the national championships from Disneyworld? I’d watch Duke University basketball games and pretend I was a cheerleader in the living room. Side note - when I got to high school, I did achieve this dream of being a cheerleader.
Some of those other stories on that list have no basis or clear connections to my life. Granted, I’m sure I was influenced by books I read, TV shows I watched, and just interacting with my peers.
Not sure if anyone can guess what the amazing plot ideas are for some of those other titles, but I’ll share a few.
World’s Apart. Flipping through this notebook was interesting. Obviously, the writing has the tone of a young teenager who was just writing, but I think I was way beyond my time in 1992. This particular story is about a teenager whose dad is promoted, and they have to move…to Mars. First of all, I had no idea about what it would take to sustain a human habitat on Mars, but I should have copyrighted some of the technology I developed in the story.
When our young protagonist arrives on Mars and begins her new school, she quickly learns that it is not as in-person as on Earth. Everyone lives very isolated from each other. They use the computer to hang out and communicate. They video call others and have video hangouts. What??? Facetime in 1992? I could have been a billionaire. I could have sold this idea to Apple! Anyway, our very social main character works to bring some of the personal, human interactions to her new Martian friends. (On a side note, FaceTime wasn’t developed until June of 2010!!)
I never finished this book. This could be one that, completely revamped and started from scratch with some additionally developed conflicts, more world and character development, and depth to the theme, has potential. Granted, One of my current novel ideas is in the sci-fi world, interestingly enough.
The only other one from my above listed stories that I feel could potentially be reimaged and turned into something is The Runaways. It is exactly as it sounds. A group of kids who are all struggling with different issues at home decide they’ve had enough and it is time to run away. They band together and end up in this ramshackled house deep in the woods that no one ever knew existed and is occupied by a really creepy guy. Then a bunch of crazy stuff happens over the next several days. RL Stein vibes here for reals!
When I was looking at this one, I realized that not only had I finished this story, but that I had, a few years later, begun rewriting it. Apparently, I knew that there was something there with this one but not in it’s youthful, underdeveloped state.
Back in those early to mid 90s years, I began dabbling in the written world. I always had a book in hand and just loved escaping to fictional worlds. Life then seemed to be much easier for me back then to find time to write. You know, before being an adult became mandatory. I am looking forward to using this blog and website as a place where I will begin drafting my first official draft of something that I really do hope to eventually publish.
Don’t forget to check out my other fun sites!
Brand New Website for book lovers: www.tinyurl.com/desertbookshelf It has links to my podcast Speaking LITerally, book reviews, breaking literary news, games, links to small business and more!
Speaking LITerally podcast! Our monthly misadventures into all things literary. Separated by the Atlantic, Liz and I come together in our love of reading!!! Find us wherever you listen to your other favorite podcasts! Click here to find us on iHeartRadio!
If you are really bored you can read about some of my personal adventures in life raising two teenagers and loving a husband who is fighting Chronic Myeloid Leukemia and all the lesson I learn along the way. Educate This.
You will publish several works before all is said and done, I know it!