So typical?

I was speaking with my sister yesterday. We were talking about a mutual acquaintance when I likened him to my daughter. The sad part of this brief story is that I rushed to open my “notes” document and typed down the particular line that I decided had book merit.

What does that have to do with the price of tea in China? Nothing, really; except to point out that, with me writing my current novel, I have officially lost my mind.

I am sure that many of you readers out there who are also writers may find quarrel with that statement. I know all of my family would. But let me point out my reasoning, my train of thought, here.

This is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that I have raced to write down a tidbit of conversation or an interestingly odd event. I am, however, doing it with more frequency than ever before. I seriously need to get a pocket notebook for these tidbits, or ten. I seriously need to find some way of organizing these things as well, so that I can find what I am looking for easily. (Anyone know of a way?)

I also have an insane habit of dreaming the oddest things. Twice in the past month I have found myself writing down my dream. It is normal behavior for those who keep dream diaries, yet that is not the reason I am doing this. I have found myself writing them down in the form of a book synopsis.

Nor are they in the same genre, technically. One is a fantasy, a series even. The other is a stand-alone book that I believe would be classified as a supernatural thriller. This second one would pull on my knowledge of a job I once held, so most likely will be the one I write next. (No, I'm not going to give any spoilers, yet. Let me edit this mess I call Raven's War first!)

My, I've strayed off point a bit. Let me get back on track here.

So here I am, with pen and paper, writing down conversations and events that are funny, sad, tragic, and just plain odd. What struck me, however, was a simple statement made by my sister, “Yup, you're a writer alright.” I'm unsure of how to take this statement!

I find the statement a rather late statement of truth. Of course I'm a writer! Have you missed my continuous posts detailing my word counts through the month?

I also find the statement rather stereotypical. Do I really want to fit a stereotype? I've always tried eschewing fitting in to any one stamp. But is this a class I wish to avoid? With such greats as Stoker, Poe, King, Bradbury, and Rice, why would I not want to “fit in”?

But did any of those really ever fit in? Not really. I think the biggest reason they stand out is because they were anything but typical. Oh, sure, there will always be those that argue with me, yet I'm not trying to start a debate right now. Maybe later.

What I am trying to figure out is, how much do I want to be a “typical writer”?

Hold on, I want to write something down for later... I have the perfect question for my next book!