Ideas Won’t Hang Around Forever?

In 2015, Elizabeth Gilbert’s still best-selling book, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, was published. I read it then, and I’m getting ready to read it again this winter. The book gave me a lot to think about, but there’s one point Gilbert made that has come to pass in my own reading/writing experience. That is the notion that ideas are everywhere, and when one of the good ones settles in your path, you might not have forever to develop that idea into a finished project.

For writers, think of story ideas. Have you ever had a great (even unique) idea that you liked but set aside to work on later? Did the idea move on to someone else while you too busy to pay attention?

I had a story idea in 2015 with a tentative title of The Girls on Wasp Island. The story involves two groups of girls at camps on opposite sides of an island who are mysteriously abandoned by the adult counselors. They soon discover there has been a disaster on the mainland and they are  on their own. I couldn’t get a handle on the plot, and my critique group wasn’t wildly enthusiastic about what I written so far, so I set it aside and started a new project.

Last week I was at the library, perusing the recently published books. There on shelf two was The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore by Kim Fu, published February 13, 2018. A quote from the front fly page synopsis: “…they find themselves stranded, with no adults to help them survive or to guide them home.”

Of course I checked it out of the library and plan to read it this week. I might still write a Wasp Island story someday, but it probably won’t involve girls at camp.

But that just goes to show you. You can’t hold on to an idea forever. Use it…or lose it.

What about you? Have you had any great ideas that moved on to someone else before you got around to using them?

 

I Never Used to Win Anything

And I still haven’t won Lotto.

But lately I’ve been luckier than usual. First I won two giveaway books on Goodreads. Then I won a package of coffee. And then, the biggest prize of all, I won a beautiful handmade quilt. I don’t know how this happened, but I’m thinking maybe I should pick some Lotto numbers and try again. Just in case.

 

The Large Print edition of Wishing Caswell Dead

I’m thrilled to see one of my books make it to Large Print. The publication date is January 9th, 2019. If you have someone in your circle of family or friends who needs the LP edition to read a print book comfortably, consider ordering Wishing Caswell Dead as a gift. It’s also the perfect donation for assisted living facility libraries.

 

The Blood-Red Pencil Blog

I’m still a monthly contributor to the Blood-Red Pencil, but December is used to re-publish some of the most popular posts from over the years. Monday’s post focused on critique groups. but you can scroll back through the days to find other posts of interest on writing and editing.