The Real Thing

I started writing this blog as I went through the editing process of my first novel—and while I worked on the second one—but it has always been easier for me to inhabit that fictional world than this very real one, where I project feelings and emotions onto the computer screen for all to see.  If I can write a 70,000 word novel in four weeks, surely I can craft a decent blog every few days?  Right?!  Easier said than done—this poor blog gets abused and even neglected as I pursue other creative endeavors.  Pinterest is somehow easier to deal with most days.  Even when this blog drifts far away from its original goals and purposes, please know that I am still fumbling my way through this thing.  If life is a constant struggle for self-improvement, then we should always strive to better our work, no matter what it is.

I have submitted my latest manuscript for publishing, but I am not currently working on another novel.  Time will tell whether or not this is a good strategy.

Busy

I finally had the foresight to begin leaving my dictionary and thesaurus on the desk while I write.  And I have been writing many, many words lately.  Anyway, while the built in features of Microsoft Word usually work well, there are plenty of exhaustive synonyms and meanings provided on the pages of those reference works.  As a librarian, I likely should have realized that from the start.  It's always a delicate balance in writing, figuring out the words you should use versus those words you simply want to use.

Thinking

Today I got past that 50,000 word hump on my novel.  It’s interesting to consider that I have written over 184,000 words of fiction just since February.  And since I completed two college degrees without ever writing anything longer than 20 pages, it’s a pretty big accomplishment.   Writing has allowed me to live vicariously through my characters, imagining how I would behave given a particular situation.   As a Gemini I understand the duality of personality and have an unusual—some might say inane—ability to play devil’s advocate.  As I’ve said before—I leave pieces of my personality throughout my work, but I also have to step outside of myself sometimes when I consider certain ideas and storylines.

Currently listening to “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell