Comfort Zones

I just realized that I haven't posted since Monday. Still no Yahoo! Still making do with shout-outs on comments and using work email (which I hate to do). Frustration mounts.

I haven't written anything on TNN, although it is rolling around in the back of my brain. Which is a big part of writing and I don't downplay the importance of the gestation period. But I want to be putting words on paper, so to speak.

As much as I hate to admit it, I believe I need to take Ali's challenge to heart. Not just the idea of analyzing and writing poetry, but her challenge today to 'step out of the comfort zone'. I have done it in the past--a fantasy story about a mermaid comes to mind--and it has energized my writing. I could argue that TNN is outside my zone because it's set in the present with a teenage male protagonist. Never written anything like that before. But it's still mainstream fiction. Essentially women's fiction because it's about what happens to his sister, but through his eyes. On the surface, it sounds very different from MMG, but it's very much in the same ballpark. Or shelf space.

Realistically, I probably won't get much done through the weekend. I'm finishing the sixth Harry Potter book tonight. Tomorrow night is a gathering of at least part of The Group. Then I'll pick up the final Potter book on the way home and spend Saturday reading. Sunday, I meet Jenny to discuss. But next week seems wide open for some experimentation and making myself uncomfortable. Sounds a little masochistic.