My original writing goals are worlds apart from my current ones. And, sadly, I have a million and one reasons why I don’t just sit down and write. Probably the same reasons everyone else has for why they have put off drafting that story that has been bouncing around in their head for decades or months or days.
My excuses:
I’m trying to raise 2 teenagers to be good humans and trying to keep them busy and out of trouble.
My job! This is pretty much my excuse for everything - why my house is never clean, why I don’t read more, why I don’t go to the gym more, and, of course, why I don’t write more. Anyone who ever said education is an easy job with summers off and blah, blah, blah….they are liars!
My blog and website. I love writing my book reviews and blog posts like this one and updating my website that no one really looks at or engages with. But for me, it’s fun and enjoyable to look at.
Ok, so I could list more excuses, but what’s the point? I know they are there and I’m the only one who can do anything about it. I’ve started this series of blog posts tracking my Writing Journey for my teenage years in an attempt to get me back into the groove of writing. To redirect my energies. To get my brain back on the track of developing the stories and ideas that are in my head. There are times when I am overwhelmed with the amount of ideas I have.
I wanted to focus this little post on the story I started writing almost 3 decades ago! A story I titled Worlds Apart. The story focuses around a teenager whose father is transferred to the Mars colony in order to figure out what is causing some of the issues that they are having in the daily operations and life systems. When she gets there she learns that the youth of the moon are not quite the same as the youth on Earth. Almost zero in person interactions, using computer technology to interact with each other which has become more of a necessity since there are system concerns in the colony.
So how do they all communicate? Facetime, Zoom, Google Meets… basically I should have finished the book and published it and made millions on my ideas for video conferencing on handheld devices. Come on, in 1993, the general public had no idea what technologies were coming down the pipe. When people log in to “Computer Program One” and connect with someone, a split screen is projected. The top half projects the live video feed of the people you have connected with and the bottom half holds a “text box.”
As I reread the 41 handwritten pages I actually completed, which by the way doesn’t really accomplish much in plot development, I’m pretty impressed with the possibilities and potential. There is definitely some effort at world building the Mars colony. I like that the architecture is discussed focusing on the unique geometric shapes and colors of the buildings, the transportation system is presented clearly and even the vegetarian is considered with the “large fanlike leaves in a soft bluish color.”
When Ashley and her best friend, Sara-Marie, whose family was also relocated to Mars, take their first walk around their new neighborhood of Springs Point, they are overwhelmed by the quiet and solitude of their new home. There are no parents yelling at kids, no balls bouncing down the street, no music blaring out of open windows. There is actually some irony to the sentence I came across on page 30, “It’s like people are quarantined in their homes.” HA! Been there, done that in the real world. At least we were still able to go outside during our global COVID shut down.
Reading this just inspires me so much to go back and develop this story, to turn it into something. It needs a little more of a driving conflict. As a 13/14 year old, I just didn’t have that concept of conflict and plot development. I simply focused on trying to develop characters and build the world. There could be a major conflict revolving around why they were sent to Mars in the first place or something that the girls discover through their unprecedented interaction outside the home.
Just in case you were wondering, “Off-world college tuition” is apparently quite expensive.
This has been a pretty fun blog to write. I’m excited about this story and the potential it has. Clearly there are some things that need to be revised. I’m not sure if “high rises” make sense as part of this Mars colony when it doesn’t match up with any of the other architecture that is explained.
Stay tuned to see where my journey goes next!
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.