There's a Three-month Old in My Writing Salon

A confluence of events left me in charge of my three-month-old granddaughter yesterday afternoon.  I had to fix more bottles than I was told she would need (either she was hungry or I was easily fooled), I
changed a diaper that almost made me call HazMat, I sang her a lot of songs, and I accomplished very little work.

All from a three-month old.

I also have a new appreciation for the book, Go the F**k to Sleep. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s an adult bedtime story about someone not unlike me (although maybe a little younger) trying to get a small child to go to sleep.  It was written by Adam Mansbach, a two-time novelist who found himself pleading with a small one to go to sleep—something the little darlings never want to do, even when they can hardly stay awake.

A few years ago Justin Halpern, an editor at Maxim (yeah, the babe magazine) found himself in his late 20s, without an apartment or a place to live. He moved in with his parents and was forced to revisit all the things his father said while he was growing up. Halpern started a Twitter feed called Sh*t My Dad Says.  The Twitter feed went viral and turned into a book (it’s hilarious, I’ve read it), and now it’s a television show starring William Shatner.

Both writers took life situations and turned them into best selling books. When Mansbach comes out with his next novel, his he will be better known by virtue of Go the F**k to Sleep. The same is true for Halpern. He’s already written one—I Suck at Girls. 

Their success has got me thinking about a more commercial approach to my writing. I’m not ready to start penning vampire novels or paranormal romance, or stories of my youth spent as a victim of the Sisters of Perpetual Guilt and Shame. Those genres have their following, but they do not appeal to me (although I have a good story about the nuns). I’m thinking of a novel that will have strong regional appeal. It will include local landmarks and sacred cows, regional scandals and parodies of local personalities, and it’s based on the beer and bullshit of my teenage days.  

It would be a perfect novel for self-publishing, too. Sales and marketing would be local. If the book is marketed correctly, it could break out of the regional market and attract a wider readership.

I already have the story. I need to write it.

As for my granddaughter, she fell into a blissfull sleep as soon as someone else came home. By that time I needed a nap, too. I did learn on thing, however. She is falling right into the family tradition. As soon as she can hold a tune, that little princess is going to be able to fart The Star Spangled Banner.

See ya later. 

 

Comments

[Writewhatisright.blogspot.com]

Love this blog post, Tim. Well written. Your source of inspiration is also very good. I hope she remains your muse in the future.

[Tim Sunderland]

Yeah. I'm pretty much wrapped around her little finger.