Chancing My Arm
It’s July 5th. I’ve just handed in my (hopefully) final round of major edits for the next novel. Proofs of The Raptures should be out in September with physical copies of the book in shops next Spring. I’ve accidentally written the next novel and am loathe to start another big writing project until mid-Autumn. I’m not traveling this summer. I’m not teaching. I’m doing a minimal amount of events. It is at least a decade since I found myself with so much time on my hands. Under normal circumstances I’d take a holiday, but holidays in 2021 are quite hard to come by. I’m planning to rest, read and catch up with friends but I’d also love to use the free time to write a few essays which have been rattling round my brain for the last few years.
Basically, I am chancing my arm here. I’m probably going to write some of these pieces anyway, then try to find a home for them. But if there’s anyone out there who’d like to commission an article or essay on any of these topics please give me a wee shout and I can tailor to your word count and theme. My DMs are open on Twitter @jancarson7280
Things I’d like to write an essay about:
Lack of diversity in the portrayal of dementia in fiction and film
Being an Aunt during Covid and the difficulty of maintaining connections during Lockdown
Writers who wrote their trauma into multiple fictional accounts before eventually coming to the point where they were happy to write non-fiction accounts of what they’d been through
The use of dementia as a trope in magical realism and fantasy writing
What I’ve learnt from decades of unbroken devotion to the same TV programme (ie. Casualty)
The positives and negative aspects of conducting community arts practice entirely online
Imposter syndrome
Not finding any sense of new found community with my neighbours during Lockdown.
Being a coffee shop writer
Writing the novel that comes after a novel everyone loves