Lately, I have not been writing. My writing tends to come in waves, so I'm not to worried about this. But there is a big part of me that is wondering if I will ever actually want to finish the project I was 95% done with last summer before I got sick. I have reread it, and think it's a very cute story with some great characters. It's a companion book to my first novel, so if my agent ever manages to sell my first novel it could be sold as a two book deal. But until my first book sells, there's really no rush to finish it. That is what I keep telling myself at least.
I'm starting to wonder if my current apathy towards writing is the symptom of a larger problem. I'm not talking writers block, I'm talking bio-chemistry. Last summer I got SUPER SICK, and spent about three months living in and out of hospitals. In order to not die, I had to have several internal organs surgically removed. The list of discarded organs included both of my ovaries, so I'm experiencing the joys of menopause in my early 30's.
Up until I got sick, I wrote Contemporary YA, aka teen romance novels. Yeah, I don't even like reading Contemporary YA right now and have no interest in writing it. I'm starting to think if I want to keep writing I'm going to have to start writing OA (old adult). Or maybe shift younger and start writing middle grade or something. I just can't get my head into the world of hormonal teenage girls right now.
The problem is that I don't know anything about OA. Up until six months ago I loved YA, and read it all the time. I felt like I could write it with some understanding of genre rules and conventions. Jumping into a new genre sounds crazy scary. Taking a nap seems a lot easier.
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2 comments:
I actually just read an interesting blog post about that subject. Is YA really a genre at all, or just a target audience? In other words, is there any reason why your novel couldn't be OA and feature the trappings of YA? Maybe you can just swear more.
Wow, Kate, you've really been through it these last few months. :( I'm glad you seem to be keeping a positive attitude, though. As for your writing, my advice would be to write whatever comes out. I recently finished Stephen King's ON WRITING for the third or fourth time (if you haven't read it, you must!), and I think he would tell you that the story is the most important thing. Don't worry about the genre. He likens the story to a buried artifact. Your job, as the writer, is to uncover that artifact with your chisels and brushes, discovering along the way what that story is. It might be an adult adventure, a spy story, a romance, something YA, or something MG. Just let it be whatever it is. After all, if you're writing YA because you feel you have to, and not because your heart is in it, you're not going to be writing your best.
That's my 2-cents anyway. I hope you continue to recover well from the surgery, and have a happy, healthy 2013! :)
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