I have a new idea for writing something almost every day, but almost never follow through on them. This is a list, in no particular order, of ideas for stories, books, and various other writing projects. I've also rated them on a scale of A to F:
- A = I have to write this. I won't feel whole until I get this down and share it with the world.
- B = I love this idea, but I think I will play around with it before I write it.
- C = I'm not sure about this one. Not in love, but I want to keep it in mind.
- D = This is a fantasy project. It's a nice daydream, but not something I want to flesh out.
- F = This will never happen. Writing this story would be a waste of precious time.
- Personal Reflection Blog: Something like, well, this blog. Something where I share random thoughts on various topics and reveal my feelings about my life. I've done this a bit back in the day on Facebook through the "Notes" app. It felt good to get my thoughts out there, and I felt like I contributed something good to the world. RATING: B
- Continuation of Sheep Songs Music Blog: I started this blog last year and kept it going for a month. I did some promotion on Facebook through different groups and pages, as well as my wall, but never really pushed it too much, and then got a little bored. The main thing that I have trouble with is trying to be systematic or consistent with it. I don't sit and listen to a whole album much anymore. A good alternate approach might be blogging about individual songs. RATING: B
- Sequel to my Big Bang Theory fan fiction: "The Antioxidant Repletion" was a lot of fun to write, and I really used a lot of techniques and styles to put it together. But I've taken a break from the show because I was getting so obsessed I was, well, writing fanfic. It's tough to leave it behind, especially when I still get people making it their favorite story a year after publishing it. RATING: C
- Inspirational Vampire Fiction: Part One of my redemption of "The Big Three" Monsters of Horror. Working Title: Blood Child. A story about a little girl who is turned into a vampire back in the past and becomes obsessed with a boy in her class, and years later, she tracks him down as an adult. He's a Christian, and she ends up being cured of her vampirism and "adopted" by the man and his wife. The wife actually has a past with another "young" vampire--who was turned at the age of 14 back in the early 20th Century and became an assassin for the Nazis. He, like the girl, wants to escape his "eternal youth" and is brought into the household. RATING: B
- Inspirational Werewolf Fiction: Part Two of the monster series. Working Title: Grey Wolf Moon. This is a actually a really old idea that got stagnant after a while and fell off the radar. Set in a remote town in the North, a preacher takes a pastorate and finds that there are more than animals in the woods: A cult of were-people run around in skins and become possessed by evil spirits that turn them into wolves. The preacher takes them on and falls in love with one of the women in the cult. RATING: C
- Inspirational Zombie Fiction: Part Three. Working Title: The Unliving. The usual zombie virus infects the world's population, but instead of killing everybody outright and re-animating their corpses to feast on flesh, the victims' souls stay "attached" to the dead bodies and use the zombies as "vehicles" to wander the earth, and yes, they do eat human flesh to keep animated. The only way the souls can escape and the bodies be destroyed is through water baptism. And it's up to a small group of people who are immune to the virus--led by a disgraced former preacher/drug addict--to find the zombies and save their souls. RATING: B
- Time Travel Fiction: This started as a Big Bang fanfic, with Penny traveling back in time to be with Sheldon and the boys, but it's a better story with original characters. Originally set in Pasadena, I think I want to put it in a big city like New York or London in at least the early 20th Century, and play up the steampunk angle. I do want the main character to be a female, because of just how radically different life was back then for women. RATING: B
- Autobiography: Working Title: Shadows of Grace. My life is just too good a story to not share with the world. I found out at age 19 that I was adopted, and that my dad was really my stepfather. The journey I took to get there--and the road since--has been a lesson in grace and truth. This is probably the one story I could start writing tonight and actually "finish"--although the story is far from over. RATING: A
- Poetry: I've got a pretty big catalog of these going back 20 years, but this is something I'm really good at writing. It's (usually) quick, to-the-point, and expressive, and I love playing around with forms and styles. RATING: A
- Songs: This is a talent that I have allowed to lay fallow and gather dust. Sometimes writing songs is easy: The melody flows, the words fall into place, it seems like second nature. Other songs literally take years to write. I feel like my best songs write me, not the other way around. I need to make this a priority, I've had some experience sharing these and people seem to get a lot of enjoyment and encouragement out of it. RATING: A
So, a working list of my top ten writing goals for the next year. Or ten. Maybe I'll start with this here entry tonight...
