A few weeks ago, as I first dipped a nervous toe into the unknown waters of 2019, I published my list of goals for the year.

You may recall that it wasn’t extensive. In fact, the only goal I was prepared to list was making progress on my current novel. The plan was to begin pretty much now. As you read this post, I should already be hard at work pulling apart and putting back together the fairly garbled prose of my first draft. Except I’m not.

Any why now? Because I’ve had a change of plan. An impromptu change of direction. This isn’t really all that surprising, given the general vagueness of the goals I set out. Still, for me, it’s a pretty big thing to throw aside my original plans at such short notice. I’m the sort of person who likes to be organised. Sudden shifts in direction are not usually the sorts of things I’m comfortable with.

So what am I doing? What is this momentous thing that has dragged me away from the novel I’ve already spent so much time on and worked so hard developing? What is this new idea that would so inspire me to throw my plans into (at least for me) chaos?

Well, I’m not going to tell you.

It’s not that I’m difficult or grumpy (though I kind of am). It’s not that I don’t have confidence in the quality of the idea. It’s basically because I feel that it’s still a bit early in the piece to let the cat out of the bag.

I want to let the idea mature in my head for a while, like a fine wine. I want to twist it around and stir it around to reveal all of its potential. At some point in the next few months, I’m sure I’ll let slip a few more details. In the meantime, all I’m prepared to say is I think it’s a good idea – an idea that ‘has legs’ as a former mentor used to say. As I think about it, I find myself chuckling, which is always a good sign. Also, I think it has substantial long term potential. I think it’s worth more than one book. I think it might be – dare I say it – the foundation for that holy grail for all writers: a series.

So, because of this rather neat idea, I’m prepared to throw aside my previous plans for the year. Sure, the novel is still there, and I definitely want to get back to it at some point. But in the meantime, I have something else to prioritise.

I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.