All Entries Tagged With: "really really weird cake"
Media Report and Future Plans
We cut off cable a couple of weeks ago for reasons that included both money and the fact that we had a gazillion channels (that’s the Latin word for eighty-three) and watched maybe twelve shows regularly. And many of those were on network TV.
I thought I’d miss it. Wil Wheaton was on Leverage the DAY after we turned off cable, but I shrugged; I’ll catch it on DVD. People gush about the gleeful horridness that is the Saturday movie on SyFy, but I never watched it anyway (although I did rent Mansquito to see just how bad it was. And it was bad. Especially since the lead monster was female, and the guy who turned into a mosquito immediately took on the characteristics of a female. But I digress.)
I’m happy to say that I really haven’t missed it. I also am happy to say that I delivered my manuscript of Heaven into my agent on time. (before DragonCon) Not sure if it’s cause we canceled cable, but I’m sure it didn’t hurt.
Yesterday I fretted about prioritizing and schedules, and after doing that everything kinda fell into place, in my mind at least. I have my September, October, and November plans, tentatively. May take December to recover… I’ll blog more about that later (and why October is dedicated to my husband, which is fitting as it’s our 11th anniversary next month). But things are beginning to solidify…
I think here is where I insert evil laughter. Evil… BAKER… laughter.
A really really weird cake
When I had the honor of interviewing Neil Gaiman at WorldCon, one thing he said struck me hard – it was when he was talking about how he doesn’t want to write the same thing every year: he wants to write different things and used the metaphor of food to explain. Instead of steak every year, one year he could write sushi, or a sandwich, “or a really really weird cake.”
I loved that. I wanted to write a really really weird cake.
I just got back from DragonCon, and I saw some old friends and made some new, and one question kept coming up. And it was surprising and gratifying and amazing. (Big f’n squee- even Phil Plait asked me this.)
When do we get Playing For Keeps 2?
It’s very difficult to describe this, and I am always so afraid that I’m going to offend someone. But here is how my fiction looks right now (publication offers change everything, and this is in no particular order):
- Heaven (novel): completed final draft. (w00t)
- Code Name Underground: Completed rough draft.
- Heaven Book 2 (novel) Working rough draft (existing novellas will need considerable work).
- Code Name Crumpet: concept phase.
- Code name Limerent: concept phase (based off existing short story).
- Audio Drama 1: concept phase (most of cast confirmed)
- Audio Drama 2: concept phase (half cast confirmed)
- Playing For Keeps 2: outline phase.
My mind is going ga-ga over the new projects. I think about them frequently. I think about Underground and the possibility for really fun outside-book content and podcast opportunities. I think about gritty Limerent and going darker and more SF than I usually do. Crumpet is a huge undertaking with conspiracies and secret organizations. And the audio dramas are just going to be twisted and fun.
I know where PFK2 is going. I have a clear vision. I just don’t know where it falls in priority/scheduling. But there’s also the question of: do I want to write another superhero steak, or do I want to bake a really really weird cake?
I kinda want that cake.
BUT- I started this post last night, and had a second thought this morning. NaNoWriMo is coming up soon. I’ve never successfully done it, as it always falls during a time I am in the middle of another big project. But it’s possible I could dedicate November to PFK2, hammer it out, finish it in Dec. and then be done with it. Giving myself a hard deadline might be the way to do it. And heck, I’ve always wanted to do NaNo.
This is NOT a declaration. I’m still pondering. But I do want to say it’s so gratifying that people want to see Book 2, I’m just very excited about new ideas I have. It’s becoming a question of time and priorities.
Many listeners ask me how to decide which project to work on first. Clearly, I have no idea…
