I was thinking about writing a novel. Yes. I've got ideas. They may not be great, but I've read books (cover-to-cover, mind you) that I know for a fact I could top in both plot line and finesse. It would probably have to be chick-lit because, let's face it, I'm kind of shallow sometimes (and I like to be widely-accepted), but I could definitely weave in a much deeper meaning with brilliant plot-twists, depth of character and moral lessons. It would be funny, too. Side-splittingly at times, and understatedly so at others. I was thinking it would be one for the ages. Canonical, even. (The first canonical chick-lit.)
Everything was shaping up for me to start writing my masterpiece. Then I recalled an incident (circa 1990) in which I actually wrote a novel. I was in junior high wherein all things are dramatic for no apparent reason. Even to me - and it doesn't get much less drama-queen than me - every minor event seemed like the crux of history. Yet, even in the midst of such a life, I couldn't muster up enough drama for a great plot. I still wrote the novel, of course, which has, sadly, vanished without a trace, but I have a feeling it wasn't quite best-seller material.
They say the third time's a charm, so I figure with one novel (maybe more like a novella) under my belt, I would basically have to write two more to get it right. That's going to be a problem. See, I don't have time to waste writing a second novel, which will be doomed from the start, only to trash it in favor of The Charm (which is my working title, if only because it's the aforementioned Third Time.) So I'm afraid my short-lived dream of being a novelist is over.
My other work, Reflections on the Life of a Single Twenty-Seven Year Old Presbyterian Banker Living in the Deep South (semi-autobiographical) is still a work in progress. Of course, with a title like that, it would have wide-spread marketability. Trust me, though, it's not quite as exciting as it sounds. (Although, you, Dear Reader, might like it. You read my blog, for crying out loud!)
I think I should stick to reading instead of writing, which, BTW, I have been doing and will have some book reviews to post post-haste.
Of course you need to write a novel. You're so Dorothy Parker-ish and Jane Austen-esque already, that a novel can only be in the cards for you.
This must be accomplished, Sarah Christin...it must.
Posted by: Brad B at July 6, 2006 06:43 PM