Hello dear hearts
I am back home in Michigan, cozy in my camper, with my numerous beverages, journals, and books surrounding me as usual. By the time this hits your inbox, I will be past my quarantine.
(Fingers crossed no Covid/RSV/Flu.)
I’ve been processing my trip, the ups and downs, the changes I want to make for my 32nd year, and re-evaluating a lot. And course, looking back on my writing this past month.
For those of you have been with me for the past year, you know that my idea for a queer dark academia novel has morphed and mutated several times. From one novel to seven novellas to six to merging with classics but make them queer(er).
But I won’t lie, I was starting to not feel it with my current WIP. I couldn’t get my main characters to fit the “vibes”. And then I realized what happened.
I was morphing two ideas into one and it was forcing me into a genre box (with genre tropes checkboxes) that was stifling the story. So, I jumped out of the box and here is the split.
Queer Dark Academia Novel
Back to my OG idea. A new student in the month before grad school meets cute girl, introduces her to five friends, they discover they are all signed up for an experimental course with a famous eccentric professor. Connections are immediate, queer chaos ensues. Cue the classic dark academia tropes of secrets, plotting, romanticizing, betrayal, destruction. Add a twist of the seven deadly sins/virtues and wielding Justice. I’m so excited to revisit my babies and apologize for flinging them about to other spaces they didn’t want to be.
"Favorites Reimagined” Novellas
These other spaces? Well, this one snuck up on me while I was in Texas at my Papa’s house. I was reminiscing and thinking about my favorite shows, books, movies and wrote down a list of the most formative. And then noticed the similarities and where they diverged and decided that these were the ones trying to merge with my original novel. The details on these novellas are still coming to me, but these are pure “writing the stories I want to read”. Even if no one reads them or hates them, I am writing them for me.
Last quick thing, I’m bringing my monthly wrap ups back over on my blog. In case that is of interest to you. Right now it’s book reviews, flash fic, and unedited random stream of consciousness type posts. I have been trying to revamp it all year and I just don’t know what I want to do with it really. But will keep trying until I figure it out.
Until next time,
-A