I’ve been working on a side writing project with four of my students for, well, has it been all school year? Yes, I suppose it has. We would have met in August for the first time, and we’ve been taking our time on this one.

It’s a play, untitled, and mish-mashed togethered in a variety of ways, but I do believe it’s starting to take shape. It’s a mystery.

It didn’t really start out as a mystery. It was more like a strange super-hero fantasy, but it has morphed into a game of intrigue, recrimination, and good ‘ole “who dunnit?”

I must admit. I’m starting to get a little fond of this piece and of the mystery genre as a whole. I’ve dabbled in mysterious writing before, but never really did a full-fledged mystery. What I enjoy most about it is trying to piece together all the angles in the most clever and unexpected way possible. I suppose nobody thinks “the butler did it” anymore, so should we make him the ultimate villain? (No, just kidding, even though there is a butler.)

We hope to polish off the first draft of it over the next month, and if I give it my undivided attention (which completely no longer exists in this world) then I think we can do it.

But it also got me thinking: how about a novel in the mystery drama. I did write “Spy Blue” – my play turned novella which is no longer available. But it’s more of a thriller type. I do intend to get back to that story someday and re-write it. But how about an actual mystery. A classically based mystery? I wonder how creative I could get on that.

It’s another option to tuck away in my ever-bulging binder of ideas. Will the time ever arrive when I have nothing to write about?

Boy, I hope not.