YA?
I thought so. I thought I was ready for it.
There is a definite shimmer of temptation inherent in YA. I have so many favorite YA authors. I dream of sitting at a table of colleagues among those very authors. I know YA concerns and have an abundance of in-my-face models to use as character inspiration. Marketing is possible. Get one teen talking and let her spread the word. But I'm not sure my heart is in it.
Children's literature?
It's a genre that requires tight plotting and lean prose beautifully rendered. Like poetry, its main challenge is finding the perfect phrase. And that's my favorite part of writing.
Fantasy? (Or at least fantastical.)
I am eager to build a world. It would entertain my little brother, at least. Something with castles and brigands, grit and hunks of bread. With an unlikely hero (of course) who saves the day.
How to decide?
Well, inspiration has hit on several levels.
1. I heard a speaker challenge his audience members to take a close look at their lives and see where time is lost, to claim that time, and to compound it in order to achieve their destiny. I admit, it's a rather cheesy message. But it strikes home. The most productive month of my life was the February I shut off my television and got serious about publishing SPOTD. Now it is a new February. A month with little (or at least less) television would not be easy for me, as addicted as I am to characters of various shows. But I'm ready for a challenge.
2. A new character has been born in my mind. I thought the story belonged to his sister, but it doesn't. At the very least, it is a shared story.
3. This line from the musical Matilda: "All escapes start with the click of a lock."
4. Finally, I am heeding the call of Neil Gaiman's words (posted in my last entry): "Try to make your time matter: minutes and hours and days and weeks can blow away like dead leaves, with nothing to show but time you spent not quite ever doing things, or time you spent waiting to begin."
And so, I'm beginning.
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