Writer's Block

There is a song by England Dan & John Ford Coley called SAD TO BELONG about the hopeless feeling of realizing that you’ve finally met the right person, but it’s too late . . . you already belong to someone else. Using that as a theme in a novel almost requires an historical setting now because the 21st Century attitude would be to immediately break up and move on.

I’m searching for a theme for my next writing project, or rather I’m waiting patiently for a plot idea to land in my lap. Meanwhile I’ve been pondering various dilemmas. I woke up this morning thinking about whether it would be better to be with someone that was crazy in love with you (while you only liked him back) or be with someone that you were obsessed with who only just liked you.

To completely get a feel for the two situations I tried to remember my long ago teenage years of angst, love, and turmoil. Boy “A” pursued me from 5th grade until college. I had no interest in him, but finally accepted a date, had a great time, but just wasn’t feeling that “you know what”. He wasn’t the one for me.

Boy “B” was someone that I fell for in 7th grade and tried unsuccessfully to attract for the next 7 years. Finally, we briefly dated. But in this case I wasn’t the one for him.

From my young heart’s point of view I would have chosen Boy “B” if I could and chained my heart to someone who never would have loved me enough. From my author’s perspective I think I would have my character choose Boy “A” and, with time and love, have her be swept away. Oh, wait, that would be about the millionth variation of a Lifetime movie.

Back to the “sad to belong to someone else when the right one comes along” theme, which is, in reality, the situation in each of the above scenarios. Been there, lived that, married boy “C”.

I need some ideas. Some “what ifs”. Any ideas?