Yesterday someone asked me “You keep saying that you’re writing, but what is it you’re writing?”
I decided that her question deserved a blog post, so here it is, kinda sorta chronologically, but not really.
“Sasha’s Journey” was my first NaNoWriMo attempt which I began (and completed the challenge) in November 2013, writing over 50,000 words in one month. It is currently being reviewed by three fellow writers. Once they’ve finished, I will spend a few days reviewing what they’ve written, and probably another couple wallowing in self-pity, even though I knew before I gave it to them that there would be a lot of things which need fixing. Finally, I will take their suggestions along with some thoughts I’ve already had about cutting, slashing and rewriting, and get to work on the second rewrite.
“Frederick” is a children’s story I wrote for my daughters when they were about five. I plan to do a complete rewrite before submitting it for critique.
“A Dubious Gift” was my second NaNoWriMo challenge, the 2014 edition. It is still a work in progress at the moment. Once I finish the first draft, I will begin the first rewrite.
The last of my current writing projects is what originally began as a self-help/memoir about coping with my parents’ suicides. I have since decided to fictionalize it, and have maybe the first paragraph written.
Other projects include my website which is up, but will need a lot of work before I get it right. In the meantime, I’m looking for people who have taken a leap of faith to follow their dreams. I have my first interviewee lined up and need to put some preliminary questions together for the interview, though I have a feeling she will either leave me with more questions or will give me a lot of unexpected information. I am looking forward to writing this one, and it will be the first of what I hope will be many articles I’ll post on my website, shericonaway.com.
Some might think I sound completely scattered, but my fellow ADD and ADHD’ers will confirm that it is impossible to have just one project on the board. If I get stuck, I can simply move to another project. Without that option, I would find myself stuck in the worst kind of writer’s block, frustration. Just as I’m typically reading three or four books at a time, I need to have an equal number of projects as well.
But wait! There’s more!
I’ve recently been introduced to a site called Wattpad on which writers post their books in serial form. It appears to be a good place to gain exposure, so I’m considering posting Sasha’s Journey there after some serious work to improve my very rough first rewrite.
Last but certainly not least is my ongoing commitment to regular posts on my blog. Ideally, this would occur daily, but until I learn the fine art of brevity (which will likely occur somewhere around the twelfth of never), there will be days when a post will not appear. I’ve learned though, that beating myself up about it is pointless. Stuff happens. Life happens. When you put it in perspective, unless you’re part of the Ultimate Blog Challenge (which, by the way, I’ve also done…twice) there is no law which says a blog post must appear every single day. It is more of an expectation one sets for oneself.
In true ADHD form, I have a second last one which I nearly forgot. In setting up my website, I set up a mailchimp link for subscribers to my newsletter. As I actually have a few subscribers already (aside from the .ru ones I deleted as they seemed kind of suspicious), I guess I have to get cracking on the promised newsletter.
Maybe not everyone’s cup of tea, but my humble little list is quite enough to make this writer dance with ecstasy!
Certainly, I’m not writing every single day. Some of my projects will take awhile before they see the light of day, but others will begin appearing before you know it. In the meantime, I also have commitments to others to help critique their work, and in doing so, learning more about being a better writer myself. I have a small library of reference books to plough through for the first of many times and some online resources to look into as well.
I sometimes wonder if, had I known when I took my own leap of faith that this was what a writer’s life really was, would I have still wanted to take that leap. But I don’t wonder for long. This is, for me, all of the things I love to do rolled into a single, somewhat messy package. I get to write, I get to learn, I get to read and I get to share my thoughts with whoever will listen. Does it really get any better than this? (aside, of course, from a publishing contract! The Holy Grail of aspiring authors like me).
Thank you, Becca for not only posing the question, but inspiring tonight’s blog post. I even managed to answer in less than 1000 words this time! A new record!
My gratitudes tonight are:
1. I am grateful for my readers, especially those who ask questions and inspire posts. Just when I think I’ve run out of things to say, they come through for me!
2. I am grateful for a killer dance lesson tonight. One step closer to dancing more again.
3. I am grateful for my dance friends who encourage me to move more and sit less. (It’s just a good thing I do my best writing late at night, after dancing!)
4. I am grateful for another visit from my daughter, and a couple of nights for her to dance.
5. I am grateful for abundance: inspiration, perspiration, dancing, writing, reading, friendship, laughter, love, joy, peace, harmony, health and prosperity.
Blessed Be
