I've always enjoyed reading different writing forms and genres. I appreciate fiction and nonfiction. Drama, comedy, romance, young adult, chick lit, poetry, children's classics, distopian lit, biographies, EVERYTHING! Not only do I enjoy reading a wide variety of literature, but I've also always enjoyed writing different literary forms. In the past I've focused on writing poetry, essays and humor. I've also always enjoyed writing song lyrics. This is somewhat strange since I don't play an instrument or sing. I guess it's really just poetry that I envision would be good as songs.
However, now that I'm newly dedicating myself to my writing pursuits, I feel like I just don't know what avenue to pursue as far as my writing is concerned. I feel like I'm standing in front of a glorious literary buffet and I am ravenous for each and every morsel in front of me. I have children's book ideas, novel outlines, backlogs of poetry and newly penned short stories. I guess I'm struggling to decide what genre to really hone in on. I almost feel like I've been in a coma for years and now that I am newly awake I want to pursue anything and everything! And really, that's what I've been doing so far. In just the past couple of months I've written three new poems, a short story, two children's books and an article. They have all been of strong interest to me and close to my heart. Though, I will say the short story was a foray into a very unknown territory: speculative fiction. That was different. It definitely took me outside my comfort zone.
I do think I need to focus my efforts a bit more and choose maybe one or two projects to pursue full force. I guess I'm feeling passionate about my kids books and pursuing that. I think perhaps its because I have children of my own now. I also really enjoy writing poetry, but I know this isn't really popular amongst the masses. Though, my poetry is definitely not pretentious (in my humble opinion). I actually think we need to make poetry more accesible to people. I often think people are scared of it or find it boring, so they avoid it. Perhaps if poets made more of an effort to make their work relatable, then it would have more readership. I don't know. I'm just rambling on and typing anything that comes to mind. Anyway, I guess I'm just trying to flesh out what my next move is.
What to pursue?! The possibilities are truly endless. I think I need to do a bit more reflecting and "soul searching" and go from there.
Please feel free to share your thoughts or insights! Anyone? Anyone? Bueller, Bueller....If you have a thought, just add it to the comments section. I would love to hear from you.
In the meantime, I am going to leave you with a list of books/literary works that I consider some of my favorites. Perhaps reflecting on these will help me make some decisions. In no particular order...
"She's Come Undone" by Wally Lamb
"I Know this Much is True' by Wally Lamb
"The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
"The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas
"Sloppy Firsts" by Meagan McCafferty
"The Tipping Point" by Malcom Gladwell
"Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein
"Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte
"Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
"Naked" by David Sedaris
"Dry" by Augusten Burroughs
"Magical Thinking" by Augusten Burroughs
"A Sad State of Freedom" by Nazim Hikmet (a poem)
"The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger
"The Hunger Games Trilogy" by Suzanne Collins
"Eleanor and Park" by Rainbow Rowell
"Cherry" by Mary Karr
"The Jolly Postman" by Allan Ahlberg and Janet Ahlberg (a children's book)
"The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho
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