E. G. Bella

Hello and happy Wednesday!

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my writing goals for 2021 – which included an insane wordcount goal, publishing plans, and a list of novel ideas I’m still trying to decide between. You can find that post here.

As I was writing out those goals, I began thinking about all the stories I hope to write at some point, but probably won’t make the cut for this year. Over the years, I’ve collected quite a list of these stories, which I affectionately call my ‘Writing Bucket List’.

You may have seen me mention my ‘plot bunny’ list at some point, which is a completely separate list of story ideas that I’ve already fleshed out a little. They’re the specific ones that I’ve already thought about, written a synopsis or logline for, and have an idea of what I want the story to look like.

My ‘Writing Bucket List’, however, is a list of types of stories I want to write someday. This includes different genres, different story elements, different types of characters, different themes, and even different mediums. I don’t have too many specific ideas of what these stories would look like yet, but I want to write them someday.

Today, I’d like to share that list with you, as well as hear about types of stories you want to write someday and/or the types of stories you want to read!

Someday, I want to write…

~ A musical
(This can be a stage musical or a musical turned into a screenplay. While I’d like to write any musical, I’d especially love to write one that’s entirely song and no dialogue – like Les Misérables, or Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.)

~ A trilogy
(This will probably happen sooner rather than later, as I do have some ideas…)

~ A long series
(What I mean here is a series with a lot of novella-length books, such as the Star Wars: Jedi Apprentice series by Dave Wolverson and Jude Watson, which I believe has twenty. I started my own years ago, and it’s no coincidence that it’s also a Star Wars series, haha. Eventually, I hope to finish it!)

~ An allegory
(I’ve already done this with a short story _¹, but I really want to write a full-length novel or series in allegory form.)

~ A story using only dialogue
(I love writing dialogue, and while I’m not sure how it would work, I’d love to write a story with only dialogue and no other kinds of prose – descriptions, action, etc.)

~ A story with no dialogue
(On the flip side, because I love dialogue so much, I’d like to stretch myself sometime and write a story with absolutely no dialogue.)

~ A novel using only letters between two characters
(I’ve only read one or two books like this, but I enjoyed the interesting story dynamic and would like to try it myself.)

~ A novel with chapters in the form of diary/journal entries
(There have been quite a few historical novels I’ve read in this style and enjoyed. I think it would be neat to try it in a different genre, as well.)

~ A novel where the villain is actually the hero and the hero turns out to be the villain
(Not much to add here, except that I love the idea of surprising readers and the characters themselves as they realize they’re not who they think they are.)

~ A rhyming children’s book
(Think Dr. Seuss. I grew up listening to and reading those books, and I’d love to write one.)

~ A novel about someone who is both deaf and blind
(Ideally, I’d like this to be from that character’s point of view – first person.)

~ A novel about someone who is mute
(I’ve had a few ideas for a story like this lately, and the idea really intrigues me.)

~ A novel about someone who loses a limb
(A movie I’ve re-watched numerous times is Soul Surfer, based off the story of Bethany Hamilton. Stories about people overcoming great physical struggles always inspire me.)

~ More stories about characters with special needs
(There are far too few stories with special needs characters in them, and even fewer well-written ones. I’d love to write more stories that portray this realistically, and show both the hardships and the beauty that’s so often found in those situations.)

~ A fairy-tale retelling
(I actually have enough ideas for these that I could write a whole series, which would be very fun.)

~ A mermaid story
(I don’t know too much about mermaid folklore, but I’ve read a couple of fiction books on the subject and found them very gripping.)

~ A flat-out comedy
(Though humor isn’t one of my natural writing strengths, I’m working hard to improve it, and I’d love to write a book that has the reader laughing with every page.)

~ A story with some kind of tournament
(I’ve talked before _² about how I like the games/tournament story trope, and I hope to invent one for a story of my own someday!)

~ A novel where the hero and villain are forced to work together
(After writing about my favorite story tropes last month, I realized I forgot to include this story dynamic, even though I love it. Something about seeing both sides work together, even though they despise each other is super interesting to me.)

~ A novel that is told from end to beginning
(As in, the book starts by showing the ending, and the rest of the book progresses backwards through the story, finally revealing how it all started in the final chapter.)

~ A biblical fiction novel
(A good example of this is Francine Rivers’ Lineage of Grace series, which I really enjoyed. I have several ideas for stories of my own, though they all center around fictional characters set in biblical times and settings, rather than writing from the perspective of people who actually lived in that time.)

~ A novel based off a true story
(I love reading true stories, and think writing one would be a fascinating challenge.)

~ A novel with a big, loving family that goes on an adventure together
(I’m self-conscious of the fact that all my stories so far contain a main character who’s missing at least one parent and/or comes from a broken home. While it makes for intense conflict – which I think is why I gravitate toward them – my own parents and siblings are incredible, and I’d love to write a book that contains that sort of family relationship.)

~ A ‘Choose Your Own Ending’ book
(My childhood was full of these kind of books, and I spend many hours reading through every possible choice and ending. The thought of writing one both overwhelms and thrills me.)

~ A volume of poetry
(Poetry has always been a soothing escape for me, and I’d love to write enough poems to put together a volume some day. I’m not sure if I would share this though, as most my poetry is very personal.)

~ An album of songs
(I’ve written lyrics for a handful of songs over the years, and hope to write the instrumentals and finish them sometime.)

~ ‘Pants’ a novel
(This is not a ‘type’ of writing, but a ‘how’. The first novels I ever wrote were ones I wrote ‘by the seat of my pants’; meaning I just wrote stories full of whatever came to mind. After taking a writing course that revolutionized my writing for the better _³, I’ve only written novels that are thoroughly outlined. I do like that way of writing but now that I know how stories work, I’ve wanted to try winging one again and see what happens. That’s actually my strategy with my current work in progress.)

Well, that’s my current ‘Writing Bucket List’! Though I don’t know if I’ll ever get to them all, I hope to! I also hope you enjoyed reading through them, and were maybe even reminded of stories you’d like to write someday.

Do YOU have a ‘Writing Bucket List’? What kinds of things are on it? If you’re not a writer, but do like to read, what kind of books do you hope to find or read more of? Chat with me in the comments below and let me know!

_^1. You can read my allegorical short story here.

_^2. My post: My Favorite Story Tropes.

_^3. The course I’m referring to is the One Year Adventure Novel Curriculum. I highly recommend it!

Recent Posts:

• Aliferous Book Review (& Author Interview!)
• 15 Helpful Quotes About Perfectionism
• My Favorite Things About Being an Author