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The New Book

By Meg Rosoff on 24 January 2011

I put off starting a new book because I didn’t know what it was going to be about.

I had an idea for a title.

Which also suggested a subject.

I had an idea for a protagonist, but not one particularly related to the title or the subject.

A few themes have been drifting around in my head.

And that’s about it.

I’ve hardly written anything yet, but my protagonist has just flown to New York and is, as we speak, heading upstate.

So. A story that takes place in America. In a modernist log cabin. Involving a mysterious disappearance.

I wonder how all this came to be?

Sometimes I question why I even bother having a conscious mind. I might as well go shopping and leave my unconscious mind at home to write.

That’s more or less how it happens anyway.

Posted in | Tagged , | 16 Responses

16 responses to “The New Book”

  1. martine Frampton
    martine Frampton 24 January 2011 at 5:12 pm | | Reply

    thanks for the little snippet of insight into your thought processes, that was interesting. Do you plan your stories through in more details or do they just evolve as you write?
    best wishes
    martine

    1. Meg
      Meg 24 January 2011 at 10:36 pm | | Reply

      I’ve tried to plan my books, but it never seems to work. They rebel. So generally I try to give them a loose rein. So to speak…..

      1. Anande
        Anande 24 January 2011 at 11:25 pm | | Reply

        Awesome! I’m glad to know that because that’s the way I do it, too :)

  2. Tweets that mention The New Book | Meg Rosoff -- Topsy.com
    Tweets that mention The New Book | Meg Rosoff -- Topsy.com 24 January 2011 at 5:47 pm |

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by E. Lockhart and Bev Katz Rosenbaum, Meg Rosoff. Meg Rosoff said: The New Book http://goo.gl/fb/yQVsh [...]

  3. Michelle
    Michelle 24 January 2011 at 6:08 pm | | Reply

    Thank you for sharing your creation process. Happy writing!

  4. fleur sinclair
    fleur sinclair 24 January 2011 at 6:08 pm | | Reply

    I want to move into the log cabin and never ever leave. I want my conscious mind to stay there forever and let my unconscious mind pick up my kids from school, sort out their arguments, do they washing, put away the washing, cook, clean, scrub, yawn – I’m loving the woods behind the cabin and if I ignore the snow, I can pretend that the view in front is of the sea.

    1. Meg
      Meg 24 January 2011 at 10:45 pm | | Reply

      Oooh. Me too…..

  5. Anande
    Anande 24 January 2011 at 8:12 pm | | Reply

    I’ve been reading your blog for a while, but I have been too shy to comment. I just have to now, though, because this is so exciting! Thanks so much for letting us get a peek inside your head. I can’t wait to see where you go with this!

    1. Meg
      Meg 24 January 2011 at 10:45 pm | | Reply

      Glad you overcame your shyness, Anande. I can’t wait to see where it goes too. I just hope it goes SOMEWHERE.

  6. Rhubarb
    Rhubarb 24 January 2011 at 8:37 pm | | Reply

    “Sometimes I question why I even bother having a conscious mind” – Ha!!!! This made my day.

  7. bookwitch
    bookwitch 24 January 2011 at 8:43 pm | | Reply

    What are you shopping for? Shoes?

    1. Meg
      Meg 24 January 2011 at 11:12 pm | | Reply

      I’m not shopping. I’m keeping my subconscious company (unnecessarily, it seems).

  8. jackie morris
    jackie morris 24 January 2011 at 10:19 pm | | Reply

    Love the log cabin. I made a glass of wine mysteriously disappear today.

    1. Meg
      Meg 24 January 2011 at 11:13 pm | | Reply

      Only a glass? Amateur…..

  9. Amanda
    Amanda 25 January 2011 at 8:52 pm | | Reply

    Hey Meg,
    Cabin – gorgeous. Here’s hoping your protagonist meets the right people. They are a little like kids at school, aren’t they? You want them to hang out with a crowd who will be good to them…

    1. Meg
      Meg 25 January 2011 at 8:54 pm | | Reply

      Totally right. Or at least an interesting crowd….!

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