Sunday

5 August 2018

Pick one. You've written two series. Pick the best one.

No.

C'mon, there has to be a favorite. If the cosmos opened up and a booming voice told you to pick one to keep forever, which one would you keep and which one would you delete?

Why the hell does your brain think of these things?

I'm unemployed and only one of the kids is still at home. I was told to go amuse myself, so I'm bugging you. Pick one*.

*based on a real conversation, though not verbatim

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 I could not pick one.

Well, I could. The first series is long over with. Done. The chances of me going back to it are slim to none, not unless I have some weird vision while walking or biking again (which is how The Flipside of Here came to be.) If I'm never going to work on it again, that would have to be the one to let go.

Still. The idea of getting rid of it?

I've said before, I would really like to re-write the first in that series, and I would re-title it. The idea crosses my mind every now and then. But, it found its footing with a lot of readers and it seems like cheating. Not that I won't if I find myself with nothing else to work on someday. But probably not.

Wanting to rewrite the first book aside, the story arc is good and the characters are relatable. Each book was better than the last, and I really dug the last book. But if I had to choose, if a gun were held to my head, the Charybdis novels are the one I would let go.

Good thing I don't have to choose.

Wick is the one I would hold onto. It's been far more fun to write and the possibilities are endless. When you have a 400+ year old time traveling cat who can communicate with at least two people, every direction available is possible.

Do you want the rest of your career to be nothing but Wick?

Not necessarily, but it's not a bad place to be. There's an entire universe to explore, and I've barely scratched the surface.

Who knows, before I die, when the last book I ever write becomes available, Wick may be Ruler of All Things, the benevolent dictator of the galaxy.

Hell, maybe before then.

We'll see.

2 comments:

Mark's Mews (Marley, Lori, Loki, and Binq) said...

I was going to say that I understand why you can't pick a favorite series. But when I tried to find some personal analogies, I couldn't.

Parents DO have a favorite child. Readers DO have a favorite book or series. I do have a favorite cat (though that is really hard). I DO have a favorite meat. I DO have favorite political commentator. I DO have a favorite sport (to play) and a different one to watch on TV. I have a favorite garden vegetable, a favorite fruit, and a favorite sandwich. I have a favorite color, a favorite outfit, a favorite houseplant, a favorite flower, a favorite design of a house interior, etc.

;)

Erin said...

Interesting that this is a common question that comes up everywhere: which would you prefer, which do you like better, who do you like better.
May I submit that the question is bogus. There is no need EVER to choose.

You can enjoy unlimited types of things, people, attitudes, etc. A better question is WHY do you like/dislike so and so or this or that. More interesting, deeper and more revealing.

That being said, I here you; sometimes we would like to go back and do something over. But the lesson I've learned in my 73 years is: _Don't Look Back_. It's a waste of time and energy. Focus on now, which you are basically doing with the Wick series.

I haven't read any of the Wick books yet. Your reasoning has convinced me to try them