Plot Plans

I've conceived the idea for a children's book entitled JELLYBEAN BLACK BOX BRAIN AND THE QUANTUM SHRIEK. All the characters are from other books, movies and TV shows from childhood. The main premise is that of Quantum Leap, in which Scot Bakula acts as a kind of time-travelling investigator. I've made some character descriptions and a brief outline guide and the ending even came to me during a spot of meditation, which is never a bad thing before putting pen to paper, but I'm reluctant to start writing the first line yet. I'm not sure why this is. I think because after nearly 4 years on the last book I feel I need time off, and there are other things that need doing. Also, I'd like to start something new that's actually important, something about me and my life. Children's books I feel are self-indulgent to some extent. There's no real 'cause' behind them. The best writing is whistleblower non-fiction (and toilet graffiti, of course). Writing new poems to read aloud every week is probably more rewarding than squirrelling away the pages on something longer, never to be seen. As Harlan Coben said, when asked if he enjoys writing: “No, I enjoy having written.” I know someone who says she never gets anything done because once she knows the ending there's not much point in finishing the story. She says she keeps starting new projects because once the solutions arrive there's little joy in continuing because there are no surprises left. It's like she's written them all in her head already so why bother putting them onto paper! And another guy who always starts with the title and the ending – all he does then is fill in the middle! “The best stories are the ones we tell ourselves.” Robert De Niro