January 2017 Update.
Okay, so I know I said at the start of last summer that I was taking a break from novel writing to focus on dramatic writing. I guess I both succeeded and failed at that. I took about a five month break from novel writing while I did my playwriting program at Berkeley Rep this summer. During that time I completed a full length futuristic drama stageplay. After the play was performed as a staged reading at the conclusion of the program, I decided that I wanted to mull over the play before I made the final revisions.
So, in the two months of downtime at the end of the year, I opted to partake in NanoWriMo in November by writing a comedic fantasy novel that had originally been intended to be a short film with a local filmmaker friend. That film sort of stalled due to funding, etc. so we agreed that pursuing the concept as a novel would be a good idea. I was particularly excited to try it out because it’s a comedic voice (well, hopefully) and I had never really considered writing comedy when it came to fiction. I love comedy writing, but had only tried it in dramatic writing previously. We’ll see how it goes…
Because I’m in a sharing sort of mood for some reason today, I’ll post the brief synopsis below (as it would be in a query letter). Feel free to let me know if you have any advice or know of similar books that could be helpful to read! This one is really fantastical in nature – I have to admit I’ve enjoyed veering from the usual stories I wrote that sort of chronicle the conflicts of day to day reality. I’d say for this one, think a combination of GHOST and GRUMPY OLD MEN but also on a road trip? I’m still working on the marketing one-liner! I have a revised draft completed (nearly). It will need another revision or two, but I’m excited about it!
Other than that, I am trying to wrap up the revision on Keep and begin the process of submitting it to developmental opportunities that are workshop in nature and provide staged readings. I think one or two more of those would be best prior to submitting to playhouses. If you know of any playhouses that do that sort of thing, please feel free to let me know! Ideally, I’d be able to work on just one project at a time, finish it, and then move onto the next. But, I’m a work in progress! Maybe I’ll get there someday or maybe I’ll never get there. I’m just not sure!
Now for the synopsis – which, you know, is just an outline.
The Most Spectacular Cam Oliver: Brief Synopsis
Cam Oliver chases Most Spectaculars–the most spectacular yoga pose (the Natarajasana), the most spectacular Disney ride (Soarin’), the most spectacular three mile patch of autumn foliage (the Connecticut Parkway). But, when it comes to being an unselfish mother and friend, Cam happens to be least spectacular.
When Cam passes away unexpectedly, she’s given one more chance to return to Earth as a NOPE (non-physical entity) and make amends with her daughter. However, her daughter isn’t allowed to see her. NOPES can only be seen by their Finisher–a person who ties up dead folks’ loose ends. Cam’s Finisher is her fastidious neighbor Eleanor. Cam must enlist Eleanor’s help to resolve her own unfinished business as well as the business of three other NOPES along the way (due to a shortage of Finishers). There’s a heartbroken songwriter with a past, an enigmatic computer nerd with a secret, and a wholesome rancher with a sad story. The motley crew embarks on a calamitous road trip to finish business, facing many obstacles along the way including being held up at gunpoint and getting tossed in prison. After Eleanor is seriously injured in the homestretch, Cam must choose to either finish her own business or save her friend’s life.
Exploring how friendship helps us become better people, The Most Spectacular Cam Oliver is an 85,000-word contemporary fantasy novel. While the novel’s comedic voice and fantastical elements will appeal to fans of Trouble in Mudbug, it’s thematically similar to A Man Called Ove.
If you’re interested, feel free to ask me about this project!
Also, what are all of you working on?
I write songs on the fly about Mr. Snowman that is on the back of my door! Lol!
Love the synopsis….I was hooked at grumpy old men! Any pranks in the story?! Keep up the good work! Now how can this be turned into a hallmark film?
Haha thanks Em! I’d be super happy with Hallmark, too!