What We're Writing: Hank is SERIOUSLY wondering

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  WHY does it always happen? Here’s what I mean. 

I know I told you the good news about my book being finished… It is in, it is approved. It is exciting. And my editor says “pencils down”. Until the copy, edit, of course, but that’s all fine. I’m incredibly thrilled about it and more about that to come. 

And then, what do I see advertised somewhere? A new book. Coming soon.  That’s kind of like my new book. Kind of. Not exactly, and the main character s nothing like mine, nothing at all, but it is in the same universe.

 Why why why does that happen? So.  I did what I always do. When these things happen, I just… Ignore it. I ignored it! I pretended  that book does not exist. My book does not come out until next September, and, whatever.  Que sera, sera.

And if that wasn’t enough.  Seriously. Not 10 minutes after we got the email, accepting and approving the delivery of the manuscript for ALL THIS COULD BE YOURS,  my agent emailed me and said, “Can you real-fast send me a couple of paragraphs about your next book? I need it for foreign sales.”

“Sure!” I wrote back, but not after spewing out (to myself) some unintelligible gibberish along the lines of “how the heck can I send you two paragraphs about something I have no idea what it is, not to shred of an idea not a bit, not one tiny little morsel?“

Okay, tantrum over, and thing is,  that wasn’t entirely true. I do have one shred, one tiny little morsel, one element that I am clinging to like a barnacle on a… Whatever barnacles cling to.

And then what do I see? I am not kidding you, an advertisement for a thing that is in the same ballpark in the same room as that idea– not exactly the same idea but certainly close enough to make me gasp. 

What is going on in the universe? Is there a universal consciousness? Where some chunk of people think of the same thing at the same time? 

And again, I did what I had to do – – I just ignored it. I forgot about it. That thing does not exist in my mind, so don’t bring it up.

It’s frustrating, though, thinking of an idea for a new book. I banged out a two page synopsis, and it sounds really great!

But.  It’s just that if someone says: what? What did you mean by “if she doesn’t find out the truth “and “ when she realizes what really happened “and “she realizes that someone knows some thing that could change her  life” – – what do you actually mean by those things? 

For that –I have no answer.  I don’t know, something cool and interesting will happen, but how am I supposed to know what it is?

And if you think about it, musing now,  I write domestic psychological suspense, so how many things can happen?

Wife, wife, husband, husband, kids kids. Husband/wife. Husband/Wife/Paramour. Husband wife kids. Husband, wife, husband, kids. A nanny.  At house. Add an insurance plan. Addd  a secret baby.  A  secret past. A  treacherous and duplicitous relative/friend/boss/girlfriend/boyfriend/mysterious stranger.  Murder, murder murder. Or not.

Stranger comes to town. Someone goes on a journey.

And there you have it. All the plots. 

That said, there are an awful lot of books. And yes, some of them are similar, some of them are crazy-similar actually, which is a blog for another time. 

So, all the good news: I have a book in the works, which comes out next year. I have two pages, also, of an imaginary novel. And around this time next year, I will know what it is. That is a magic that never ceases to amaze me. 

What do you think Reds and Readers, is there a kind of zeitgeist collective thinking universal mind where there are ideas out there and it’s just a question of who takes them or recognizes them? 

Meanwhile, you will find me at the drawing board.