I’ve mentioned it a few times now – The Book – and figured I would share with you all “The Book Book Plan” and some updates on The Varkens and a little intro to my new project – yes, new project – Brightstar.

But first, The Book Book Plan. After finishing the final edit of The Keeper, and now waiting for the proof-copy to arrive, I could see I had a lot of growing to do. I am pleased with the outcome, and I’m sure to catch a few things in my last read-through before putting it on sale, but I also know I have a lot of improving to do before I send out query letters for another novel. So I want to focus on improving, growing, and learning before my next big novel project, – as we refer to it in our household – “The Book”.

The Book Book Plan is this: to write a couple novels for fun and to grow during the coming months, to outline The Book, and then to write The Book during the 2015 NaNoWriMo. Then, I hope to pursue an agent and publishing house for The Book, rather than self-publishing. I’m sure that will come with a whole new set of learning experiences.

Second, The Varkens has been put on hold for the time being. I have really felt my inspiration die out for this project. Since I wrote only one half to a third of the novel during the 2014 NaNoWriMo and then proceeded to get sidetracked by the holidays, followed by show I was designing through February, I think there was too much space to continue. I am so familiar with the characters and plot that I have become very flat and bored with my few of them. I had hoped that changing my plans with Act 2 would renew my interest in the project, but my boredom has persisted.

I think there are a lot of things within this project that I need to learn, and this project has brought those things to light. Here are a handful of things that I hope to improve upon before The Book that The Varkens brought to light:

• Multiple POVs
• Fight/Battle sequences
• Narration
• Inner-dialogue
• Characters reacting without dialogue
• Breaking up dialogue with action or inner-dialogue
• Foreground romance
• Covering longer amounts of time

I might come back to it some day, but I learned a lot from this project and, in that aspect, I still be accomplished with it, even if it is never finished.

Third, Brightstar is the working title of the new novel I am pursuing, this all of the previously mentioned things in mind, solely as a learning project. One big thing I hope to do with this project is to write QUICKLY. I hope to have all of my outline and details ready by April 1st so that I can write it during Camp NaNoWriMo. The short deadline will help keep up for motivation to write, which I lacked for The Varkens.

This novel will be an Alternate History novel – a subject I find very interesting – set during the American Revolutionary War with some fantasy/sci-fi elements thrown in. I have never been drawn towards writing much Historical fiction; I prefer new worlds where I make the rules and the history. But this has already been a great learning experience when it comes to research and using a preset timeline. Of course, with the main elements of my story, there is freedom for variation, but I am hoping to have more of a butterfly effect, rather than overwhelming sudden changes. Don’t worry, there won’t be any Clockwork George Washington (though that was one of my initial ideas, I won’t lie).

So that’s where I am right now!