Help!

I haven't written anything since last spring. Seriously, I can't think of anything, other than blog entries. It all stopped around the same time - my dog got shot, my hard-drive crashed, then the kids were out of school for the summer. It all added up to no writing for me.

I work really hard at being a good parent, so much so that I ignore my own needs. And I'm talking about basic needs like sleep and food, forget about my creative needs. But let's not forget about them. They are important. I need to remember, and to focus.

But when it comes to writing, I really feel like I need a new project. I want a big project, something I can really sink my metaphorical teeth into, but I need help forming a plan. How does one write a novel? What do I want to write about? I need an idea, a plot, some characters. I need to come up with a few good characters and put them in a room together, let them talk it out.

See, I'm really fucking lost here. For a little while today I considered going back to one of my old projects but I get stuck. I don't want to be stuck there, I want to go out into new places, explore new ideas. Or at least put new ideas into the old places.

It seems so cliche to me, but I keep going back to New England in my mind, the way that so many writers tend to write about the place where they grew up. I want to write about the crisp fall air and the brilliant leaves and halloween and the scary movies of the early 80s...I want to write about sneaking out at night and creepy old New England houses...the unsolved serial murders of teenage girls in the town next door...

I just don't know where to begin.