Should I Make My Book a Series?

I have completely lost my mind. Not only that, but I've also gotten so ahead of myself that it's a bit ridiculous.

Ok, so usually when you come up with an idea for a book, all of your focus is on that book. You write it once, twice, maybe three times, trying to figure everything out and get it right. It could take a long time, but you know how important this one book is to you. But what happens once the story is done? Is that it? Do you just move on to the next idea, new characters, new everything? Or does the MC from your first book attach himself to your brain like a leech and you just have to keep going and figure out what happens to him next?

I have been on the fence for well, forever, when it comes to the idea of writing a sequel (or sequels) to Uneven Lines. The book can certainly stand on its own. But on the other hand, the thought of just giving up on Jordan drives me a little nuts. I don't really want to. I want to keep going with his story. I've had an idea for a sequel in my head for a while, but I've always worried if it was going to be good enough to stand up to the first book. The biggest problem, though, was that I had no idea where this story would end. Would I just keep writing sequels for the rest of my life? There had to be some way to wrap it up, but I had no idea how.

So then the complete insanity happened. I was hoping that being in New York City would inspire me somehow (since it's where the book takes place), but like the little bastard that he is, Jordan decided to take the inspiration in an entirely different direction. No, I did not figure out how to fix the last third of UL, but I did completely plot out a third and final book for a potential series. My first thought was, "THIS IS ALL WRONG." And the more I thought about it, the more I was thinking, "No wait, IT'S PERFECT." So I spent most of the time feeling very inspired and yet very confused.

The obvious cons of this story: it involves a love triangle (because that's never been done before), lots and lots and lots of characters for me to keep track of, and a cheesy five years later "oh my God, look how successful everyone is" epilogue (I'm gonna go ahead and blame the Glee finale for putting that idea in my head). But I'm still figuring it out, so I can change all the stupid parts. And when I first started figuring this story out, I spent half the day with absolutely no idea who Jordan would end up with in the end, but then it dawned on me and it completely goes against everything I ever thought would happen if I took the story in this direction. But it just felt so right. I felt like I had finally figured it out. And I realized that Jordan does in fact become a rock star, which I couldn't figure out before but he wouldn't have it any other way. And I've also kinda started writing it already. Mostly just dialogue, but I keep actually hearing the words in my head and I just have to get them down.

So I'm kinda sorta completely in love with this third book idea, but I still don't know if I should do it. Should I just leave UL alone? Probably. Do I want to? Hell no. I guess I should just write it because I want to and it's in my head, and then maybe someday I'll figure out if anyone else gets to read it.

A to Z Theme Reveal

I wanted to get this done earlier, I swear, but I also had to sleep forever after coming back from our New York trip yesterday (which was fun! But no time to talk about that!). So I'm gonna try to bust this out real quick. It's finally the day for the A to Z Challenge Theme Reveal!!!

This was especially exciting for me because this is my second year doing the Challenge and last year I didn't have a theme. I was happy to actually come up with one, which will hopefully be entertaining as well as provide some writing tips.

Ok, drum roll please...the name for my theme this year is.......

The Name Game! 

Basically everything you could ever want or need to know (and some you didn't) about naming characters in your stories. This will include different types of names, different kinds of characters who need names, how you actually use a character's name within the story. I'll be including examples from books and other media, some ways I've used names in my own writing, and hopefully just some cool tips. And also the fourth installment in my Freaky Name Coincidences posts (because these things keep happening to me for some reason). 

I still need post ideas for the letters J and O but at least those aren't too early in the alphabet so I still have time to figure it out. I was thinking of having a post on naming characters after people you know and/or pop culture references, but I can't for the life of me get that idea to work for one of those letters. So thoughts are welcome. 

I should probably get back to actually working on my posts! Or unpacking my suitcase. But I'll be back on Wednesday to tell you all how I've lost my damn mind with a new book idea...

Blog Hop Help!

I know, I know, I said I probably wouldn't blog today. And if you're reading this, I'm most likely still on a bus right now. But I actually wrote this yesterday when I was struck with an idea and decided I really wanted some input.

So my 4th blogging anniversary (or blogiversary, or however you're supposed to spell it) is coming up at the end of May. I've thought for a while now that I'd want to do something to celebrate, probably some sort of blog hop or fest, but I felt my initial idea was a bit too complicated.

But anyway, I came up with another idea which I thought was simpler and could be a lot of fun! But I would really like to see what people think before I start really developing the idea.

I was initially going to call it "Have You Been Paying Attention?" but then I thought of a much better name: "The Great Blog Scavenger Hunt." (Or something along those lines). Basically the idea would be that anyone participating would ask a certain number of questions (maybe around 10?) to their blog followers, asking certain questions that they have at some point answered on their blog. Since I'm sure no one wants to spend their entire day hunting through old blog posts, I figured there could be levels of difficulty. Like, the easiest ones could be found on the first page or in your bio. Next hardest could be things you've mentioned several times. Hardest could be one time things. And the people guessing can answer however many of the questions they want.

Here's where I'm having some difficulty figuring it out, or maybe it's just becoming too complicated in my head. I don't really know what the end result will be. I had a thought that maybe I could go through all of the posts, find the person who answered the most correct questions, and that person gets an Amazon gift card from me or something. Also I wasn't sure about what should happen when someone gets the correct answer. Should the blogger update their post to say so? Or maybe that could be recommended but not required. If I do the prize thing, I would still be able to see who got the answer first. But at some point the blogger *would* have to list the correct answers, and I'm not sure if that's too much to ask of people. I also thought that if people weren't getting them all, you could put up hints.

Ok, I'm obviously putting way too much thought into this right now and I think I just have to step away from the idea for a bit. But what do you guys think? Would it be something you'd be interested in doing? How much would you be willing to do or how can I make it less complicated?

Or, my original idea was a sort of "muse party." I "host" a party on my blog where you can bring your muse or a character from one of your books. I'll provide a series of questions that you can answer on your blog (like, what are you guys wearing? Did you bring food or a gift? etc). Would that be easier? I thought I was leaning toward the new idea more, but the more I explained it, the simpler my original idea seems, and it kinda fits in with my blog more.

AGH. I don't know. I'm sorry I'm so awkward. But I would love any and all opinions on this!

Still Busy!

I had a good idea for a blog post, I swear. Actually, I had two! I thought I would write one of them for today and the other for Friday. But I'm kinda just not feeling it, and I'd rather save the good ideas for next week when I can actually pay attention to blogging. I still haven't even started packing for this weekend's trip. Yeah, so I should probably get on that.

The good news! I'm down to only needing posts for the letters J and O for the A to Z Challenge. I have a few ideas I'd like to use, but I'm not sure if I can make them work for these particular letters. Maybe I can talk about this more on Monday for the theme reveal and get some input.

The even better news! I have two 4+ hour bus rides this weekend and I'm hoping to get a lot of work done on my posts during this time. Or at least lots of reading. Or maybe both. I need to charge my Kindle before we leave. I have so many blogger buddies' books on there it's a bit ridiculous. I need to catch up. But hey, I'm a slow reader.

So I have a hunch that I won't be blogging on Friday. Or maybe I could write something on the bus on my phone. Right now I still have so much to get done but I just want to take a nap. Perhaps it's coffee time...

Busy, Busy, Busy!

I'll keep this short because I'm probably about to start running around like a crazy person...

This past weekend was busier than my usual stay-at-home-and-hide-from-the-world ones. On Saturday we went to see my fiance's best friend in a dinner theater show, and then last night my fiance had a stand-up comedy show. So I had to actually dress up and go do things and also ignore everyone around me having alcohol because I'm trying to lose weight...

This upcoming Friday, my fiance and I are going to New York City (I have no idea how many times this will be. I've lost count). He's turning 30 next Tuesday so it's kind of an early celebration. He's doing an open mic there on Friday and I got him tickets to see Larry David's play Fish in the Dark, so it should be fun. I'm not quite sure what else we're doing. Figuring that out is just one of the many things we have to get done this week.

So at some point I have to pack, plan this trip, do laundry, clean the apartment, and probably some other things I've forgotten. I'd like to still have a blog post on Friday but if I don't get it done ahead of time it's definitely not going to happen that morning. But I also haven't missed a blogging day at all this year, so hopefully that will be motivation to get it done.

So if I have time for anything else before Friday, then I really really need to work on my A to Z posts. I have most of them planned out, but none of them written. I'm worried that I picked a theme that's too hard to come up with 26 posts for. But I'm going to keep trying. I've come way too far to try to start over now. I still need a post idea for B, E, J, K, O, W, & Y. I have no idea why certain letters like Q, X, & Z were easier to come up with, but anyway, that's where I am now. I don't know if I can get all of the posts done before April begins, but if I can at least get the first week done, that will help out a lot.

Here's what I know so far: my very first post is going to be an overview of the theme. I'm pretty sure my last post is going to be satire. And I'm trying very hard to come up with pictures to put in with the posts, but it's a hard theme to find pictures for. So I may just put in various reaction shot gifs from my favorite movies & TV shows. I've already started collecting them...

Ok, I've rambled enough. Gotta go be productive.

Questionable Google Searches

I thought I'd do a quick little fun post today (and make a list! I love lists!). As writers, we have to do a lot of research when we're writing our books. No matter how familiar we are with our subject, there is always going to be something that we don't know. So chances are you're gonna have to do a little research. And maybe sometimes you have to Google some questionable stuff. Stuff that makes you think whoever is monitoring this sort of thing probably thinks you're some kind of weirdo.

But hey, books can be complicated. Maybe one of your characters commits a crime, or one gets hurt and you have to search for what happens during blood loss (it was a vampire story, ok??). Not every story is happy and fluffy and requires zero sinister or questionable activity.

I've had a particular story on my mind for the past few days and I was thinking about all of the research I'm going to have to do for it. And when you put all of those things together, it seems like a very screwed up kind of story. So that's what I did. Put all of the things I have already searched for or will eventually have to search for in order to write this book into one weird list. Some of the things are more tame, others are not.

So here are all of the potential Google searches for this particular novel, whose title is most likely going to be Truth or Dare, and I may or may not ever write it. It could just stay in the back of my brain forever.

• Colleges in New York City
• Wedding announcements
• Private investigators (although I'm more than likely going to have a character find another one through Facebook instead)
• Paternity testing 
• Candy Land
• Do open bars ask for ID? 
• Characteristics of an abusive relationship
• Types of recreational drugs 
• Effects of rohypnol
• Several legal questions, including:
• Third degree assault
• Attempted sexual assault
• What the victim has to go through to report these things
• How likely it would be prosecuted & what happens when the defendant pleads guilty
• Also, statute of limitations on a past crime
• How long does a black eye take to heal? 
• Bunk beds 

I figured I'd end on a light note there with the bunk beds. And maybe at some point I should write just a normal, happy, fluffy story. Yeah, at some point...

Happy Friday!

Question: What's the weirdest thing you've ever had to Google while writing a story? 

Too Tired to Do Anything

I'm having the hardest time being productive this week. Like, I was supposed to write today's blog post two days ago, for example. Remember my crazy color-coded schedule from last week? I made another one for this week but I haven't followed it at all. So like most of my ideas to stay organized, I feel like this one is already going out the window.

I'm sure it's some combination of Daylight Savings Time and just not feeling well (*cough* PMS *cough*). I want to get up early every morning but when the time actually comes I just can't make myself get up. And then when I sleep in, it makes it so much harder for me to be productive. My brain just doesn't feel like functioning lately.

And I had so many things I wanted/needed to get done this week! I really need to get my A to Z posts done, look for pictures for them, finish my editing list, write these new scenes that are buzzing around in my head, write a guest post, finish my resume and cover letter and apply to some jobs, look into submitting some poems and short stories to magazines, start trying to figure out freelance writing. Not to mention several trips to the gym, keeping up with my diet and daily exercising, some deep cleaning of the apartment, grocery shopping, and all of the other daily chores I have to do.

Oh, wait. Maybe my brain was way ahead of me. Maybe it looked at all of the things I planned on doing and was just like, "Hahaha nope. Sleep." I know I should focus on one thing at a time, but I really want to get all of this stuff done. But maybe having all of these things to choose from makes it impossible to choose one at all.

So I don't really know. Maybe the whole schedule thing was a bad idea. Or maybe this was just a bad week to try to do it. I'll probably try it again next week and see what happens. For now I'm just going to make some coffee and try to get at least one thing done today.