Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Input Please

Friends,

My psychiatrist is firmly of the opinion that I need to settle down with *one* project rather than flitting around amongst a whole bunch of different ones. He feels this will bring me focus and creative satisfaction. So here is an idea! Will you tell me which of these I should actually write/finish? Or which would interest you? (If any, gosh.)

- Book in which I visit the world's dollhouses, discourse about miniatures etc. generally

- Book in which I gain all old-lady skills

- Children's novel re: Pied Piper of Hamelin

-Book in which I live for a year on Tangier Island, learn life lessons

- Book about my 4 great-grandmothers (that's my mom's idea)

- Something about food.

These are all wholly theoretical, except when I've written bits of them. Even so, help me narrow down! I am actually not kidding, because you know how I write, etc.

24 comments:

  1. I like the ideas about the old lady skills, the great grandmothers, and the island- in that order.

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  2. At the risk of contradicting your therapist I find that working on two projects at once is pretty beneficial. I'll focus on one at a time but when I'm in a rut with one, I'll switch to the other, as a kind of palate cleanser. Oftentimes I'll have an epiphany or find a solution that will help me with the first project. That's my two cents, anyway. I would pick two very different books to work on, like the children's novel and the old lady skills book. I'm a fan of old lady skills, myself.

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  3. I would very much like to read the book about old lady skills.

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  4. I also like old lady skills, great-grandmothers, and dollhouses. Do you know about the giant dollhouse in Saskatchewan? If not you MUST look it up!

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  5. From what I've read of you writing (a surprising lot, actually) I think you'd write an excellent book about dollhouses, miniatures, etc.

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  6. I would like to read ... the book on dollhouses or the one about your great-grandmothers. This is incredibly selfish and mostly based on the fact that I am already replete with anachronistic talents.

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  8. The book about the great-grandmas sounds very interesting. Writing the dollhouses book would be a hoot! I like the idea of old lady skillz (I don't believe old ladies ever spell skills with a 'z', though), but when run through the promotion wringer it might come out as condescending and blind to history - my worst fear would be "Cute Brooklyn-ite learns how to can vegetables and quilt, OMG!" But perhaps I am being too cynical!

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  9. Dollhouses - it's Sarah Vowell-esque and you would so enjoy the research.

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  10. i vote for the children's novel.

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  11. Well, I like the old lady skills, but if you pursue the dollhouses: http://www.angelsattic.com/

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  12. Oops, it's actually in Manitoba.
    http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2007/06/11/benning-dollhouse.html

    I would love to take photographs for the dollhouse book.

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  13. Another vote for "old lady skills" here! A great idea and so much potential, too, for pics and tutorials and little personal histories along the way.

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  14. perhaps somehow combine the two topics of great-grandmothers and old lady skills? both sound intriguing.

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  15. perhaps somehow combine the two topics of great-grandmothers and old lady skills? both sound intriguing.

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  16. B - Old Lady Skills! I'm curious already.

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  17. DOLLHOUSES (I will buy 15 copies.)

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  18. The great grandmothers! The world needs more stories about awesome women.

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  19. This quiet fan would read anything you write, but I'm especially in favor of the old lady skills and dollhouses.

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  20. You should do the old-lady skills book, but write it as both an experiential memoir and an instructional book. So that while reading about your adventures, I can also develop some old-lady skills which I woefully lack.

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  21. I vote for the island, the grandmothers and the food. Though I'm intrigued by Alicia's idea of combining old lady skills and writing about your grandmothers!

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  22. Oooh I'm a little late but I vote for the dollhouse book (Colleen Moore!!) and second for the great-grandmothers. I'm excited to see what you come up with.

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  23. I want doll houses. And grandmothers. I would read these things.

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