Shifting Gears.

So the revision of Reconstructing Meredith is still moving along. I'm about 2/3 of the way through editing the hard copy of the manuscript, and about halfway through putting those changes into the computer. Then I just need to write the new chapters, edit those, and the book will be ready for beta readers.

While editing, I was thinking about the outline for Under My Skin, as well as some other ideas I had bouncing around in mah brainz. Try as I might, I just couldn't get excited about an idea. Or at least, I couldn't get excited about sitting down and writing any of them. The characters weren't saying much to me, the stories felt "blah," and washing the dishes started sounding more appealing. If you know what a shamefully abysmal housewife I am, the part about wanting to do the dishes should tell you something.

Then I did a little fateful channel-surfing. My wandering channel-changing button landed me on The History Channel, which is one of the few channels I actually enjoy watching (I rarely watch TV anyway, I just felt like it that day). A show had just started, and within about two minutes, I was completely roped in. This isn't unusual on that channel. After the episode was over, another followed.

And somewhere, deep in the crevices and back hallways of my brain, a light came on. An idea came crashing through the walls of boredom, followed almost immediately by a cast of characters. Eureka! A new story that has been keeping me awake at night, forcing me to carry a notepad around more than usual, and even pulling me away from my Reconstructing Meredith revisions a few times.

A new story that is...*whispers*...science fiction/fantasy. And it's not a romance. There will be a couple of romance subplots, I think, but the story in and of itself is not a romance, nor is it erotic.

So I think a couple of things are happening here. For one, it's a new idea. A completely new, totally different idea. That's always enough to cost me a few hours of sleep and some pages in a notebook.

For another, I've realized I'm seriously burned out on erotica and romance. After 18 novels, 2 novellas, and 5 major rewrites in less than 2 years? Stick a fork in me, I'm done. Not enough to give them up forever - never fear, my loyal blog minions! There will be more filth in the future. I'm not giving up one genre for another, I simply need a palate cleanser. A temporary change of scenery, if you will, and what better place for that than another freaking planet?

I've always had a soft spot for SF/F anyway, and I've had the itch to write it again for a long time. So, I'm going to give it a go and write this as-yet-untitled SF/F idea after I finish Reconstructing Meredith. That should give me some time to clear my head a bit, and I can go back to writing your regularly scheduled filth and frivolity.

So, long story short, thanks to some burnout and a well-timed afternoon of History Channel-watching sloth, I'm temporarily shifting gears. It may take a bit longer to write than my usual genre, so I'm going to cut myself some slack if I don't meet my monthly goal of having a first draft finished. I still need to take some time to do some world-building, figuring out the intricacies of the two societies around which the story revolves, and pick a few people's brains about things relating to space travel and such (Misaditas? Paging Misaditas?). Presumably, my actual writing speed won't change much. I've written fantasy before, so I'm pretty sure that won't change. Just need to figure out all the gory details before I can write it.

Will this new story pan out? Will it be something worth publishing? Am I completely delusional about my ability to write the damned thing?

Only one way to find out.