Seriously, thanks so much for all the help yesterday. I appreciate all the comments and bits of advice I got, both on this blog and elsewhere. After a lot of talking/reading comments and emails, I have my ducks in a row concerning Incubus. So, in true Two For Tuesday style, I have a quick two-part follow-up to yesterday’s post. 
1. Everyone I talked to agreed that it is probably best for me to put aside Incubus for a while. I am not getting anywhere with it, and the truth is that at this point I am probably doing more harm than good. The best comment I got was from my mom, who is like HolyCrapBusyAccountant and doesn’t have time to link out of her email to comment on the blog. (Though, she would probably just email me instead of commenting even if it wasn’t tax season, but I digress.)
Mom told me that Stephen King first tried to write Under The Dome twenty-five years ago, but wasn’t ready yet to tell the story. Now, I really really hope that it won’t take me twenty-five years (I mean, that is how old I am now…it better not take half my life to get this story out), but taking some time until I am ready to really write this book will not kill me (or the book, thankfully).
If it works for Uncle Stevie, it will work for me. Right? Right??
2. After deciding to let Incubus…er, incubate…I sat down last night and started work on something new. It’s been quite a while since I wrote blind, without any sort of outline, and I had a blast. I called it a night at 2,000 words–something I haven’t been able to do on Incubus in the last two weeks! (And not just no 2,000 word nights–I haven’t been able to put 2,000 total on Incubus in two weeks.) Needless to say, I am thrilled.
I don’t know where this new little project is heading, so I can’t tell you much about it yet. But here is what I do know:
- It is a summer book
- For now, I am calling it So97. No, I won’t tell you why…only Lilah knows.
- It has an awesome playlist!
I listen to music a lot when I write, but I have never created playlists for any of my previous books. This one is a bit different though. While it is in no way autobiographical, the places, emotions, and many of the characters are all influenced by a very specific time of my life. So, I created a playlist of songs that would take me back to that particular time.
Yes, these songs are really quite random, but they do their job well. Listening to this music takes me back to where I want to be in order to write this book. I remember the sights, the sounds, the smells–everything about one particular summer. The funny thing is: I am sure some of these songs were actually released after that summer, but they still remind me of it. Memory is a strange beast in that regard.
I guess it’s just like Wireman says: When it comes to memory, we all stack the deck.
15 Comments
O. M. G. I feel like a junior in high school again. LOL!
Isn’t it great how quickly music can bring us back to a certain time in life?
Ahhh… that playlist is SO ’97! Or at least so 1990s! Lol. Love every one of those songs.
You got it! That is not exactly where the title came from…but it kinda morphed into that the more we talked about it.
Abby Stevens you SO rock my world today. The phrase “that is SO 1997″ was one of the reasons I used when I was trying to get her to name it So97! You are awesome!
I LOVE the playlist! And you SO did the right thing to let Incubus…incubate
a little longer. You’ll get there friend, no doubt. In the meantime, congrats on getting your roll back!! Look at that ticker go!!
Hey thanks! I knew you would like the playlist!
Holy cow I’m missing Seeley Lake so much right now. Specifically, Seeley about thirteen years ago:)
*ahem* I don’t know what you are talking about….
Lilah, that is awesome! Such great music! Ugh, does it mean we are getting old if I feel like 90s music was waaaaaay better than most of today’s music!?
I have one that I started and we just didn’t work out together. Broke it off, and now I am back in love with it! I love that you have made the decision to just move on. You rock for that girl
Good Luck with it
Thanks, Jamie! I am hoping that a little separation will do us some good.
workin’ harder than a one-legged man in a butt-kickin’ contest. But anyways, I was CRUSHED that there was no STP Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop. You definitely need to throw “Art School Girlfriend” in there. Not even kidding a little bit. Peoples lives may hinge on this decision… Well, not really, but you get the point. As for Incubus acting like a Suck-ubus, I know you’ll work it out in your own time. Nothing can fully withstand the crushing flow which springs from your fount of awesome. Eventually, it all gets rocked and rocked hard.
Hehe. This comment is EPIC.
I will take the “Art School Girlfriend” thing under consideration…it doesn’t evoke the memories and emotions like the rest of this list does, but if peoples lives are in the balance, I might have to do it!
Yup.