Time to Start a New Novel

Due to exams and awful, brain-draining hazards of the like, I've had this post sitting around and it's long overdue because I've already decided on the new idea I want to work on while I wait on query replies for INGENICIDE. But since I have a breather from studying and this blog has been a bit barren for some time, I'll post it anyway. All mentioned ideas will be added to the WIP page...sooner or later :)

It's pretty unbelievable that INGENICIDE, MS #2, is finally at the stage when I can sit back, stare at the computer screen, and think hey, I think it's almost there***. I have to underscore the ALMOST because there's no question that it could go through the ring of fire again is someone pointed out a specific area to fix. But it is almost perfect as in it's time to stop fussing over it and shifting clauses and commas around. Even if there is a larger problem, my eyes have tired after the 3rd pass. I have to reconcile that it will never be perfect. At this stage, this is about as good as it will be. I've been dipping my toes into the query waters for the past two weeks now, but it is time to toss this MS into the ocean.

Hopefully, it'll swim.

***Just got edits back from my CPs. More suggestions on making it better have been gushed over and piled into a to-do list. 

Meanwhile, it's that time again when I go back to my list of SHINY IDEAS. The list has been growing, and now I'm worried that I might not be able to write all these books, these books and their sequels and their trilogies. So I'll have to pick favorites. So hard.

A great resource that I've found for picking between shiny ideas is this blog post: How Do You Decide Which Story to Write? I'm just going to bullet the main points (you can read the article in detail if you go to the link).

Stars if your idea is a story that:

• You want to write
• Fits the market
• Is ready to be written
• Appeals to others
• Challenges you

Remember that this list should probably be used at the last deciding factor. If you have two ideas that you are equally eager to write, then maybe think about market. Guessing the "next big trend" is no easy feat. However, picking out the dying trends can be just as helpful. I know it's a gross generalization but let me grossly generalize anyway just to give an example: the paranormal and dystopian markets for YA are pretty saturated. Meaning--at least for the time being--it's going to be more difficult to sell in those markets. My own MS is a light dystopian because I love writing in that genre and you should never let anything get in the way of the things that make you all jumpy and shivery as a writer. And OF COURSE there are always exceptions. Heck, there are exceptions with the tried and true formulas of great reads! Market is just something to keep conscious of in the back of your mind.

Here are the ideas I have been considering:

1. THE SERENDIPITY LABS
Genre: YA Speculative/Myth Retelling (inspired by the Fates and Pandora's Box)
Setting: Alternate Universe

In a single day, seventeen-year-old Natalie Laenus learns what it means to be blind.

As the prison keeper’s daughter, shy and obedient Natalie is no stranger to the eccentricities of the inmates. But when one tosses hydrochloric acid into her face, even her apathetic parents enter a state of shock. Just when Natalie has resigned to a life of darkness, a stranger appears in her hospital room, reassuring her that the accident was a technical glitch. He makes only one request: forget that it ever happened.

When the third degree burns vanish, no one seems to remember the tragedy—except for Natalie. Torn between the desire to meet her savior and to heed his warning, she decides to put the incident in the past.

But one person, a new convict called Jasper, can see what her parents cannot: the touch of interference from the Serendipity Labs, a perpendicular world that exercises prevention and damage control over luck and mischance. He asks Natalie to free him. In exchange, he will help her find the stranger.

Before long, Jasper sucks Natalie into his twisted little games. His motivations for aiding her are murky, his morals questionable, and Natalie is hesitant to trust him. But the faceless stranger haunts her dreams. The past will not go gently. And perhaps there is a dangerous thrill to Jasper’s reckless intensity. 

But the most dangerous force of all lies within her. The force of curiosity.

2. MUST THINK OF TITLE
Genre: YA Historical Fiction (a dearth in this genre, I say!)
Setting: 1900

Please excuse my absence. My plot has been sucked into a black hole and must be retrieved.

3. IF LIFE WERE FAIR ***
Genre: upper YA/NA Contemporary
Setting: Modern day

Bernadette: Binge eater taking a gap year. Has never held a job longer than a week.
Luke: Waiting tables to send money to his “white trash” family.

Her mother’s ultimatum for smart-mouthed eighteen year old Bernadette Lisle? Get a job or lose the credit card. Having surrendered to her eating disorder, Bernadette knows she has to hang onto the money. That doesn’t mean she has to love her new job at the fancy French bistro downtown, where everything’s a melodramatic nightmare. But slowly, Bernadette comes to love her fellow waiters and waitresses. And there’s Luke, that assistant chef who wants to write stories for a living. He’s kind of cute, but he’s got way too many chips on his shoulder. Bernadette used to care, too. Now, she can’t stand to be reminded of the life she ditched.

But when Luke suddenly comes down with a weird bug, Bernadette must confront what it actually means to live--for his sake. It’s not just about existing from day to day, shoving her face and then running off the calories. If life were fair, Bernadette knows that she should have been the perfect candidate for stomach cancer. Not Luke.


***This is the project that I'm currently tackling!



I'd love it if you shared which one you find most compelling :D