Charlotte at Charlotte’s Web tagged me for this meme, which honestly, as memes go, seems like a very worthwhile thing to do as a writer. This is not a distraction at all! So, do I have a distinct style, one that would be recognizably me? I hope so. Let’s see…

I will try to be positive here, rather than burying myself in my usual doubt and negativity. Mainly because I’m trying to shoot out 50+ pages this long weekend, plus revise three chapters of a whole other project as soon as possible as was asked of me, and both seem like overwhelming prospects, and if I think myself into a hole I won’t get anywhere.

So.

Here are the 10 Signs a Book Might Be Written by Me:

1. Voice will be front and center. Voice will be what pulls you in. Voice will shape the story, reveal or not reveal, drive forward, in whatever direct or meandering way it can, the plot. It could be one voice, or two dueling voices—for a future book, I’m considered trying three. If you don’t like a strong voice, most often first person, chances are you won’t want to read my books.

2. Language, and the telling of the story, might take a front seat to a formulaic plot. I’m trying to balance this better, but be warned.

3. Something—or more likely—someone will go missing.

4. Characters do disappointing things to other characters, just like with real people in real life. Hearts are stomped on, disregarded. Fathers leave. Mothers fall short. People lie, dangerously. People try and fail. People get caught.

5. Somehow, at some point in the story, the characters will find themselves in or around the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. It could be the whole story, or one quick take, but somehow those blue mountains will find their way into the story, even in a passing scene.

6. Childhood memories will not be forgotten. A long-dead memory—blocked out, misremembered, or misunderstood—will likely factor in to the plot in some significant way.

7. If there is a love interest, he or she will have deep, dark brown eyes, my most favorite kind. (Hmmm, e, I wonder why.)

8. Tangents abound. Tangents take you to places that might seem like diversions, but really they’re touching on what I really mean to say, so I shouldn’t call them “tangents,” should I?

9. If you know me or know where I’m from you might recognize street corners, train stations, ice-cream shops, bridges, specific people, specific things said.

10. The end will not necessarily tie everything up.

I’ll tag the following writers if you haven’t found yourself tagged already: Bloglily, Heidi at Light-skinned-ed Girl, Maht at The Moon Topples, Susan at ReadingWritingLiving, and Yojo at Burning Like Water. I could go on. Jump in if you want to try…