Trying to write a book

I have always wanted to be a writer. It’s why I originally chose journalism as a career path — it was writing that could pay the bills, well sort of (I just got a $350 water bill – don’t let your toilet run — so I’m not sure how I’m going to muster up that much money). I have written about 20 pages in the past two weeks. Most of the writing comes from about two or three years of sketching out characters.

The novel will tell the story of Augustus Storm, a Louisiana kid reared by a crazy family. His maternal grandmother can cure illness with a deck of cards. His paternal grandmother tries to fix the family curse with a dowse of holy water. His dad can start a rainstorm, and his mom prays Augustus won’t pick up the fate bound to the generations of Storms. I intend for it to be funny in a way, sort of like Little Miss Sunshine is funny. We’ll see how successful I am.

I do have a basic time line of where I want the storyline to go, but I am writing extemporaneously right now. My plan is to hash it out and then go back and repair. I’ve never done this before, but I know how I can be in journalism: get hung up at the lede and never move forward. As I’ve taught myself as a reporter, I can always go back and amend the story to make it work. The plan is to get bulk of it down on paper.

I hope I finish the book. For the people that know me closely, you know I love lavish ideas, and then to quickly abandon them a week or two later. Hopefully, this will buck that trend!

Side Note: While on the topic of recent habits/trends, I started reading again. My friend and I (he calls us Oprah and Gayle) are trying to read books together. Our first is Mississippi Sissy. I already read a 100 pages.