This week on the podcast, Penn and I talked about the rare occurrence we had recently of both kids being gone for the night at a friend’s house. It felt suspicious to have a bare calendar and no children to cater to. It was a preview of what it’s going to be like to be empty nesters. We went to dinner without a reservation, and even had a drink while we waited for a table. The next day, we got up when we felt like it. It was like being on island time without the island.
I’ve had a lot of friends recently who have sent their kids off to college. Reading their posts tears my heart out and makes me tear up thinking of the day that’s me. But our rare night to ourselves made me excited for the new chapter. Penn and I are one of the lucky ones who really like hanging out together. We like hanging out so much, we even started a new (and possibly terrible) show together.
Writing a YA Novel
The show we are watching is called The 100. It’s not new, just new to us. We’re watching it because with all this free time I’ll have someday in my life, I want to write YA fiction. I even had a plot completely dreamed up that I pitched during a team meeting. “That’s the show The 100,” said Penn. “Yeah it sounds a lot like that,” agreed our team member, Sam. I’m still not giving up on my dream, but I consider watching The 100 research to make my version different.
Lately, I’ve been craving a big project… I just don’t know what yet. We are working on big things at Team Holderness – a new website, merchandise, and even a family card game. (Join our newsletter to get updates.) But I still feel the need to create. Penn believes that ideas are out there just waiting to be found. I believe that sometimes great ideas find you, then they leave you for another vessel if you don’t act on them. For now, I’ll be taking long walks for my next big idea… and watching The 100.
Listen to us talk more about our creative process, YA novels, and answer some hilarious (and very creative) questions from you:
