I’ve previously likened my planning/drafting process to that of a hike through a forest to a mountain peak. There’s some exploration and experimentation, but there’s always a goal. The challenging place I’ve been in the past couple weeks is that I’ve not had a single peak I’ve set my sights on, and distractions in the news have made settling on any of the peaks I’d previously considered plotting to now feel less imperative.
Unicorns & Satellites has a message I believe in, and I will surely get to it, but part of my writing is about resolve in the message I’m working on. It’s the only way I come home from a full day at an office and sit at the desk for it- by believing in the message I’m communicating in my story. While a message on the importance of discipline and dedication in relationships is valid, it feels secondary in importance of things I want to address at this very moment.
So, once more, Unicorns & Satellites is sliding down the list of priorities behind another project. Will my next project involve romance? Sure. Love is an inescapable fact of life, it’ll always play a role in any true story. However, my focus is going to be fear, scrutiny and how relationships and behavior are affected by both of those from media, strangers and friends.
The premise is in a mid-sized any-town USA, a small boy is found dead in an animal cage of a traveling circus that has arrived in town and an investigation/media frenzy that ensues. I don’t have a title yet, but expect a header section and excerpt posts to begin as soon as I do.
Sometimes the path isn’t direct, sometimes you take a moment to get your bearings and find where your resolve burns most. When you do find it, fix your eyes and mind on the destination and begin the work. There’s no fault in pausing to find that. Once you’ve found it, get to work. We move forward.