My husband thinks I've turned a new corner in my career. That corner that comes after you've proven you can write, and you can sustain a series, and you can craft good stories. That corner that, when you come to it, you can either keep going down the familiar street and keep writing the same sorts of books, or you can take the unknown street and see what you can do. The unknown street stretches you out in uncomfortable ways. The unknown street makes you work, daring you to try things that couldn't possibly fit together, things you couldn't possibly make people believe. The unknown street is scary and dark and you're afraid you'll get lost and never make it out of the street. You'll end up working at a mini mart on the unknown street, and no one will ever recognize your name; they won't remember that a long time ago, they read your main street books.
I turned the corner. I took the unknown street.
The other street was easier. On the other street I knew who I was and what I was doing. I knew what I had to do to earn a living, and how to get a reader hooked. But now I'm in weird territory. I'm writing books that I have no idea if people will want to read. But these books I'm writing on this unknown street are making me excited to go to work. They're waking me up in the middle of the night and filling me with excitement and curiosity. The characters are disturbing me because they feel real and close and they're popping up in my dreams.
I chose the unknown street because I didn't want to spend my life writing the same books. I didn't want to write popcorn books that would earn me a paycheck. I wanted books that would consume me. I'm hoping since I'm consumed, that maybe one other reader will be consumed too. That's all it takes, really. If one other person is moved, it's worth it. If one review says, "I stayed up all night reading this," then I'll be happy. I'll work at the Unknown Street Mini Mart and keep writing Unknown Street books. I'll stay up all night being consumed.
I can still write books from the first street, the main street. But for now, I have to stay on the unknown street. So I'll know, and I won't wonder what would have happened if I'd written that neo-gothic dystopia. I won't wonder what would have happened had I written that noir time travel romance. This is the year of divergence, of straying from the path and exploring what I can do. It's not the easy way, but it's the right way.
Let's see what I can do to make you remember my name.
I turned the corner. I took the unknown street.
The other street was easier. On the other street I knew who I was and what I was doing. I knew what I had to do to earn a living, and how to get a reader hooked. But now I'm in weird territory. I'm writing books that I have no idea if people will want to read. But these books I'm writing on this unknown street are making me excited to go to work. They're waking me up in the middle of the night and filling me with excitement and curiosity. The characters are disturbing me because they feel real and close and they're popping up in my dreams.
I chose the unknown street because I didn't want to spend my life writing the same books. I didn't want to write popcorn books that would earn me a paycheck. I wanted books that would consume me. I'm hoping since I'm consumed, that maybe one other reader will be consumed too. That's all it takes, really. If one other person is moved, it's worth it. If one review says, "I stayed up all night reading this," then I'll be happy. I'll work at the Unknown Street Mini Mart and keep writing Unknown Street books. I'll stay up all night being consumed.
I can still write books from the first street, the main street. But for now, I have to stay on the unknown street. So I'll know, and I won't wonder what would have happened if I'd written that neo-gothic dystopia. I won't wonder what would have happened had I written that noir time travel romance. This is the year of divergence, of straying from the path and exploring what I can do. It's not the easy way, but it's the right way.
Let's see what I can do to make you remember my name.
RSS Feed
