The Roller Coaster of Writing

Just a brief check in blog world.  Been busy doing edits and more edits on my YA Contemporary Thriller Mirror Images.  Really busy.

Right now my manuscript is out to some readers.  It is the first time I have really let loose of it to let people who know me only somewhat see what I have been doing.  I know my book is FAR from perfect and I know it will return with numerous edits for me to do, but I got my courage up to get on the ride.

Near where I grew up is a theme park that used to have a great roller coaster.  It was a simple by today's standards.  Just ups and downs and a few unexpected turns and drops.  And I loved it.  I don't dislike the newer, faster upside down roll over kinds with bigger drops.  I like them.  But I miss the fun of that good old dependable ride.

This is how I approached Mirror Images.  When I started writing it, so long ago I don't want to admit it, the market was flooded with paranormals, dystopians, and of course, vampires.  There was nothing wrong with that, I read and enjoyed them too.  But it wasn't what I wanted to do.

I realized I missed the old mysteries and thrillers of my youth.  I loved how empowered I felt when I followed the clues and figured out who the bad guy or killer was in my Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys novels.  I had loved and still recommended  to students all the teen thriller books of Lois Duncan who wrote I Know What You Did Last Summer and other books that now seem cheesy, but I loved them.  I also liked that the books were short and even somewhat predictable, because having a "friendship"  with the books was enjoyable.  I read other types of books growing up and I learned, bettered my mind, challenged my ideas, and cried too over them.  It was like with people in my life, who had done of all of these things too.  I enjoyed all of the experiences, but when it came to picking my friends in books, I didn't want to learn or be challenged or always be involved in some drama.  Those mysteries and thrillers were my friends I could depend on bringing me joy.

So I really gave some time to determining what had made those books appeal to me to the point I remembered them after all of the books I have read in my lifetime, and I have read a lot of books in my forty-eight years. I thought when I started at the beginning of Mirror Images and I still think there is still a place for these books in the lives of young readers living in this current world.  Anything that can show young people that using your mind to overcome obstacles is the most important message I think a book can give beyond modeling the way to love and show kindness.

I looked at what I loved, books with suspense; who I loved, the thousands of resilient wonder young people I had worked with in my years as a teacher; and I thought this is what I can do; help others enjoy a book about teens who face obstacles and use their brains to figure out what to do.  That's real life over and over.

On the surface my book is about a serial killer in a small town.  But I think it's a book about growing up, loving and hating your family, falling in love, working your first job, being with friends, using your mind, making really hard choices, and learning to believe in yourself and others when everything and everyone says something different.

Right now I am enjoying my ride in the writing world.  Some days I go up higher than I have been before and others drop quickly down much lower than I ever wanted to be. Sometimes it is the same day and I repeat my ups and downs.

Like a real roller coaster, the twists and turns and climbs and drops will surprise me.  I am often a little afraid of where I will go next.  But this is the ride I bought the ticket for and I am gladly on it now.

In real life as a writer, I need my hands to type, but in my mind I choose to stop holding on tight the safety bar.  I am throwing my arms straight up to the sky and laughing and screaming with joy for the whole ride.