So Many Ideas // A First Look at Future Novels

Everything I've been doing of late has been leading me back to the million actually 22 story ideas I have. And those are just the ones I love and want to be published novels someday. So I'm going to share some of my thoughts on the stories that I'm really thinking I might develop soon ... ish.

With the increased traffic on My Writings page, considering pitching at the OCW conference WHICH I LEAVE FOR IN TWO DAYS, redoing my Pinterest, and brainstorming plot bunnies with the sis, literally everything has been screaming: think about your stories!

DISCLAIMER #1: Since I am in the middle of writing Martin Crossroads (book 2 of the Martin Generations Series), that project will keep me going for probably the next two years at least. Anything I talk about here today will most likely not come to be until after this current project is complete. :)

But who cares, right?! It's still fun to dream of these babies. None of these happen to be mentioned on My Writings page. And I'm pretty sure I haven't even whispered about most of these. So count yourself blessed ;) I even have an excessive amount of mock covers because I get excited XP

DISCLAIMER #2: Everything you're about to see is purely hypothetical and mostly just my excitement. ^.^

I get excited every time I think about this one!!! The Hills of Tyler happen to be my ancestors: Samuel and Melissa Pearl Hill, who raised eight children in what my family now calls the Tyler House. It's located in Tyler, Texas and is over a hundred years old! While it could be in a better part of town, and requires a lot of upkeep, it's so precious because of its history--the Hills became very influential people in Tyler! Besides that, my paternal grandfather is the. last. living. person. who can tell me all about them. 

His mother was a Hill, and Pa knows all the haunts, hobbies, and delightful trivia. He can still show me where the warehouses are, the lumberyard my great-great-grandfather began ... he remembers that Uncle Ernest went by Buddy and invented a cream for athlete's foot called BIFF. Aunt Gladys was legally blind and had her daughter tell her the color of street lights so she could drive. Sam Hill (yes, really) built row houses for the lower income families and Pa collected the minimal rent. I mean, it goes on and on! 

People were born and died in the rooms I sleep in when I stay there. And the house is full of old books and family portraits. So why wouldn't I want to document the family that started it all? I'm slowly collecting the information on them that can only come from Pa so all those memories won't be lost with him! I'd really love to see this published while he's still here as well. (Considering he just "mostly" retired at 79, I should have some time.)

This one would be something along the lines of a time travel literary serial that I would feature on my blog in "episodes." I was marveling over the beauty of certain TV shows Doctor Who and Downton Abbey, especially the way there's a huge overarching plot for each season, some the span longer than that, and then the neat little bow plots that get resolved in each episode. I would love to be able to write like that!! So I thought, why not try? I could do "episodes" on my blog and then publish "seasons." 

As far as content, it's fairly vague at the moment, but has shards of awesomeness. Here's a first draft blurb: 

Since the beginning of time, magical creatures called Keepers have been responsible for the integrity of literature. They "keep" a Library--hidden to the menial human eye--that contains one of every book ever written. With such responsibility comes the power to enter the books' timelines when necessary. After one Keeper abuses his power, and the subtle evils he seeds in the stories must be combatted, it's up to the newly commissioned Keeper Q to discover the solution before all of the world suffers as a result of a world without story.

*tada* The goal is to feature a book per episode that has something just slightly wrong about it which must be remedied before the changes to the book's timeline become irreversible and permanently damaged. I might even go so far as to have the "end result" of the meddling be the story we have now. Who's to say what the original looked like before such interventions were necessary? The point is only that we still have good books :)

Have I mentioned these spinoffs before? I can't remember ... but that could very well make the "finish writing Martin Generations" take a lot longer! I've actually already begun planning Anneliese's story, which will take place when she is in her late twenties/early thirties. It will line up with parts of Martin Crossroads, most likely. :)

As for Farris and Emmaline's stories, I just think they'd be fun to tell, as well as a way for everyone to follow along with certain characters still. Who knows, I could do origin stories as well. (Stuart and Joy Martin, anyone?) So let me know if there's a particular character you want to follow in detail! With any luck, these would only be novella length (30,000 words or so).

Before I launch into this one, can we just appreciate that cover for a minute? Please? *happy sigh* Everything about that is 150% perfect for this fledgling of an idea. And honestly this one has been downright plaguing me of late. The playlist has come together nicely. I talked to my sister about it for a few hours the other night and we nailed down the basic plot. It's going to be epic, you guys!! 

Also, it's another contemporary. I wasn't sure for a while, but it's been officially agreed upon by me and my adviser now ;) It shall also be a non-romance. You're welcome. ((And to be completely honest, I'd love to see this one traditionally published? Maybe??))

But first I'd have to get good at pitching it -_- Summing this one up kills me, but at least there's a Pinterest board and Spotify playlist that can help me do it justice.

Basically, it follows two characters who are currently named Eliza Birch and Christopher Maddon. Eliza lives with her grandfather. He even homeschools her, and the most vital part of that education is their weekly trip to matinee showings in the small-town, old-timey theatre. While hoodies, earbuds, and poetry books are Eliza's only friends (and she's happy that way), Christopher Maddon changes that when he's the first newcomer the town has seen in twenty years. While he's less than enthused to be handing out popcorn, Eliza and her grandfather intrigue him and soon their passion for cinema begins rubbing off as he spends more time with them. Their notions on God and history baffle him, not to mention worry his parents. But more than anything, Christopher wants to be a human interest journalist for People magazine. And the Birches just might be his first story. As a thank you for everything they've done for him, Christopher encourages Eliza to join him in playing crowd people in a local movie shooting. Eliza's love for acting wins over her introverted personality when the director takes special notice and offers her a more prominent part, and eventually a multi-year contract. As Eliza launches into stardom, Christopher feverishly works his way through school, and the local cinema shuts down. When he's assigned to write an article on her, he's dismayed to find that Eliza of all people has come to believe that the face she puts on for the cameras is the real her. He'll do anything to convince her she's not the person she could be, and that perhaps this whole acting thing was a bad idea.

What are your thoughts on those?? It feels so good to be able to talk about them with you guys! As I said, any of those details could change, but the point is: they will hopefully all be physical books you can hold at some point in the next 10 years xP So in case you were still wondering, I'm totally in this author business for the long run. ;)

Talk to me! What awesome story ideas do you have? Any storyboards to share? If you're interested in learning more about my other ideas, definitely check here and here. :)