Last year wasn’t much of a writing year; I wrote one horror/hallmark pulp fiction -using ChatGPT to help plot it with the mix of genres, finished it, printed it out for editing, and then ignored it. Because I was distracting myself from my inability to continue with Long Undead.
I’ve never had a novel fight back with so much ferocity. And I wondered if I was even a writer at all. Maybe it was the wrong path, not the thing I was meant to do at all, and so I stopped. For exactly three months. Until my brain suddenly decided it knew what I needed to do to solve the problems I was having.
This novel started out as a movie script -an unfinished movie script. Because I love how movies are plotted, how they are like puzzles that you have to put together and rearrange until all the pieces fit perfectly.
And this year, 2025, I want to finish the novel, the movie script, and write a pilot for a limited series TV show, also based on this novel -however it will take a totally different characters perspective, just like the movie script does.
The problem is, I’ve started this year focused on my health. And not out of choice. So, I’m tireder than usual, don’t have as much motivation to do anything other than rest, and any work I do manage to get done tires me out really quickly. So, I’m mostly working on the novel on the weekends for an hour or two. But it’s not like I’m starting from the very first page.
This series of books, Noctisbellum Inc., are all linked (and there’s a lot) in a crazy spider web of ideas and characters. So, why shouldn’t the movies and TV shows do the same, in different ways, too?
Yup, it’s a crazy idea! But I got it from Universal’s Dark Universe. And since they pivoted significantly away from their original plan, I’m going ahead with my version.
Having never written a TV script before, I think that might be quite a challenge. I know it’s different to writing a feature length script. I’ve taken a couple of courses on both, but never gave a series much thought. I think the different perspectives could give it an intense, meaty plot.
The movie script just needs me to finish writing it, and obviously some editing. But I’m currently focused on the novel, as the ideas keep crashing in and I can see where I need it to go now to make it work. I just don’t have as much time available to work on it as I used to, so it’s little bits here and there. Currently, at just over 87k words, I think it’s going to be close to the 100k mark when it’s done and ready for editing.
I chucked a chunk in an AI to ask who I write like, just for fun. And I’m hoping it will help me figure out which agents/publishers to send to when I get to that stage. Because I think I’d like to try the traditional route. Plus, it gives me time to build my social media to a reasonable level that’s in line with what agents/publishers are looking for now.
And finally, I would like to learn how to Market my work better; it’s a skill I’ve never quite picked up so I’m going to work on that too. 2025 is going to be a little chaotic, I think. So, follow me on TikTok, Instagram, or sign up for weekly emails from this blog, and help me build a platform I can launch these projects from. Should I do YouTube?
Horror and Fantasy Author – Also writing as K.T. McQueen. Love Western Horror, cowboy boots, my cactus Collin, & my Demon Cat.
Moths – I hate moths, the way they flutter at your face!
