The novel I can't write {yet}.

And launching my Patreon!

Do you feel like you can breathe a sigh of relief? Even if just a small one? I do. Also, I realized yesterday we may have had a Halloween without any blackface and… Well, who cares.

Anyway, I had a dream last year that has inspired a story idea and is taking up a lot of space in my head.

The story is about a woman who leads a team of scientists that have developed a way to restore the earth's environment.

Despite winning hundreds of awards and getting billions of dollars to build and test, the system gets no traction.

The Climb Ahead

The story has been growing for over a year. Like the baby, who becomes a sarcastic, angry little girl (this, I'm comfortable with writing, ha) and really just wants her mommy.

I flinch at the idea because I don't know how I am going to write this. And because I have this question, I know I have work to do. There are authors like N.K. Jemisin and Nalo Hopkinson who I can study. But I am out of my depth and I know it. I’m also thinking about other possibilities; maybe this isn’t a book at all, or maybe I’ll have to find a co-writer.

An Announcement

This is one of the reasons I started a Patreon, which is officially launching today (🎉). Before Girl Tracy, I completed a novel about a woman who kidnaps her younger siblings. The plan is to get this book out next, it deserves to be finished. Then, work on the new idea, the… creative thing I’m calling Project 3.

I’m on Patreon to hopefully replace the income I’m getting from the full-time job with my writing-work, and to give myself time to figure out Project 3.

What I'm Serving

I am committed-committed to This. To put it plainly, by ‘This’ I mean getting creative impulses and acting on them. I am committed to whittling my barriers down so I can create with others and a healthy level of hesitation.

You don’t need to be a writer to understand what it means to stifle your own creativity. If you have an idea that is sitting with you, you know what it’s like to stop yourself from making the thing or putting it out into the world.

Patreon is where I want to document how I get from where I am to where I want to be, creatively. I want my Patreon to be a place where I can get weird and talk about real shit, like following the thread, pinpointing exactly where inspiration comes from, and creating the lives we want to live.

My first Patreon post (which you can see for free) is about how I found focus again. There’s a story about 'post-publish cringe' and how it can be a good thing (locked), and a “secret” file, a chapter from the first draft of Girl Tracy (also free).

Hopefully you’ll like what you read and become a patron. For $2 a month, I’ll shout you out in this newsletter and you can have your alter ego’s name in something I’m working on.

Fin

These days I’m comfort-watching 30 Rock and listening to the most calming album in the world (IMO!). I still feel like I’m in the unknown, but I’m okay with it.

If you're also on Patreon or wondering about the platform for your own work, reach out. We can trade tactics, tips, and tricks.

Ok, that’s it. See you next month!