May 24, 2012

After A Short Break...

So we're back, after a (more or less) short break.  This seems to be how it works.  After putting out an issue, we tend to give our HBM brains a rest.  For me, this time around, it has meant (on top of changing diapers and using yet more parentheses) that I've decided to try something I haven't done in a while: write a novel.
It's really hard.
Let me explain: my excited geeky side likes convoluted, action-packed, plot-heavy storylines set in a nicely-dystopian-but-not-too-over-the-top world, and involving fun characters who use a lot of witty (ok, cheesy) one-liners.
On the other hand, the literary snob in me wants my geeky side to also include depth and meaning into my story, or else it won't cooperate and the whole thing will go down in flames.  Which it already has done, twice.
So I've been doing a lot of rewrites before the writing really had a chance to hit any kind of stride.  That's probably not the way to go, but I haven't done this in a while, and the last time was in French.
But, I do have a good cast of characters and what I believe to be a great idea for a plot if I can get it to make sense.  I also have a few great one-liners (for the sake of my inner literary snob I call them aphorisms).
As for depth and meaning, I believe they might come.  At least, I'll try not to scare them away.