In which novel ideas come at the most inconvenient times
I was reading A Bruxa de Portobello by Paulo Coehlo during my lunch break today. And I put the Portuguese title because I was indeed reading it in Portuguese (in English it's called the Witch of Portobello). Reading in Portuguese is slow for me...but doable. You can get a lot more from a book by reading it in its original language....and I need to practice reading in Portuguese.
So there I am, reading along, and I came across a Portuguese expression, "Estou voltando" -- it means, "I'm returning," as in, "I'm returning to the topic." This reminded me of another Portuguese idiom -- "Voltanda a vacca fria" -- "returning to the cold cow." It also means "coming back to the topic," but it turns out there's some controversy as why the idiom is literally about a cold cow. (I love linguistic controversy!)
I thought about the phrase and thought, "The Cold Cow." Wouldn't that be a neat title for a mystery novel? And then in the following minutes I came up with a story idea.... I know the main character, where it's set (Curitiba, Brazil), the inciting incident (the death of a cow, followed by a kidnapping), and some of the major plot points. I also know that it would be a classic mystery story written in the style of magical realism. And part of the thrill? The main character must solve the mystery even though she doesn't really speak Portuguese.
Tthis idea will have to be put on hold. I'm almost done researching and outlining my current story (a typeface mystery), a story I feel compelled to see to its completion.
The Cold Cow may just have to wait until NaNoWriMo. So be it. If one of the Greek Muses visited me with this idea and she wants me to write right now, it was poor planning on her part, because she also visited me with the idea for the typeface mystery. Luckily for me, I don't believe in the Muses, or in most romantic notions of writing. Story ideas tend to come to me when I'm reading a lot (check), thinking about a variety of cool things (check), and spending quality time writing (check). So while the idea feels somewhat out of nowhere, it's not really. Good thing some great ideas can be put on hold, and that the Muses were never known as ax-murderers.
ETA: that's not to say I don't believe in inspiration or writing epiphanies.... just that the Muse is overrated, and if she exists, she never wants to do the hard part of actually writing and revising.
So there I am, reading along, and I came across a Portuguese expression, "Estou voltando" -- it means, "I'm returning," as in, "I'm returning to the topic." This reminded me of another Portuguese idiom -- "Voltanda a vacca fria" -- "returning to the cold cow." It also means "coming back to the topic," but it turns out there's some controversy as why the idiom is literally about a cold cow. (I love linguistic controversy!)
I thought about the phrase and thought, "The Cold Cow." Wouldn't that be a neat title for a mystery novel? And then in the following minutes I came up with a story idea.... I know the main character, where it's set (Curitiba, Brazil), the inciting incident (the death of a cow, followed by a kidnapping), and some of the major plot points. I also know that it would be a classic mystery story written in the style of magical realism. And part of the thrill? The main character must solve the mystery even though she doesn't really speak Portuguese.
Tthis idea will have to be put on hold. I'm almost done researching and outlining my current story (a typeface mystery), a story I feel compelled to see to its completion.
The Cold Cow may just have to wait until NaNoWriMo. So be it. If one of the Greek Muses visited me with this idea and she wants me to write right now, it was poor planning on her part, because she also visited me with the idea for the typeface mystery. Luckily for me, I don't believe in the Muses, or in most romantic notions of writing. Story ideas tend to come to me when I'm reading a lot (check), thinking about a variety of cool things (check), and spending quality time writing (check). So while the idea feels somewhat out of nowhere, it's not really. Good thing some great ideas can be put on hold, and that the Muses were never known as ax-murderers.
ETA: that's not to say I don't believe in inspiration or writing epiphanies.... just that the Muse is overrated, and if she exists, she never wants to do the hard part of actually writing and revising.