Unfortunately, as mentioned previously, my previous Blog entries are
gone for good. So I thought I should do a Recap on what came Before.
I started this Blog and Website last year (Summer 2020) as a place to
showcase myself as a Writer, and as a Session Presenter at When Words
Collide, Festival for Readers and Writers. Participants at my sessions
have often asked me to send them my session notes, which I am/was
willing to do, but in reality rarely did. Sorry guys. But here on the
Website I can post them for anyone to see and download, and hopefully
make use of. Or fun of. Whichever. Last year's sesison notes have been
posted, as well as some accompanying reference material. Also a session
I did a couple of years ago. And a short story written a few years back.
My Bio would describe me as someone just about out of middle age, who
has been writing since I was a teenager. I attended the Clarion Workshop
when it was still hosted in Michigan (1984), and I was technically still
a teenager. I barely got in, but it was an amazing experience. For the
next five or six years I tried to concentrate on writing Short Stories,
as suggested by the Clarion experience, even though I prefered novels to
read and write. But I diligently sent them out to various publications
for consideration. And while I sold none of them, I did get a few
"favourable/positive" rejection letters. ie: personal comments,
criticisms, etc were included. Which doesn't happen too often, and
served as a bit of hope for me to keep on trying.
Once my Hubby and I started our family (the two legged variety, not the
four legged and furry ones who came first), my writing output slowed
down somewhat. I was still writing, just not as much. Short stories
weren't actually something I was particularly fond of, so I spent more
time working on longer works. Novels and whatnot. But I stopped sending
submissions out, mainly because nothing was ever finished during that
time. LOTS and LOTS of ideas, and stories started, and notes taken. But
nothing actually finished. Chasing after toddlers, etc, seemed to take
up the majority of my time.
But toddlers get older, and go to school, and although now we were
contending with Dance Classes and Girl Guides, I had a wee bit more time
to put into my writing. And my output increased. But was still sporadic,
and all over the map, so to speak, in regards to what I would work on
from one day to the next. But I kept developing more story ideas, plots
and characters. And filled many, many file folders with all these early
efforts. Some of my stories became tales I told my kids, mostly to fill
the time to and from dance classes. And as they got older, they would
pester me into actually finishing writing them. But I never did. Not
then, at least.
At some point I got my first computer. And then my second. And then the
first of many laptops. And all the subsequent notes and folders became
digital. One story in particular - one of my very first ones to be exact
- existed for a time as both typed and digital. Once I had decided that
I rather liked using a computer, I took that story - entitled "Best Laid
Plots" (yes, I'm serious) and continued on with it on the computer.
Picking up where the hand typed part ended, I just kept writing it into
the computer.
More years passed. More stories started, some that had some legs under
them, and had the potential to actually being completed some day. I
would revisit these stories whenever the mood struck me, and I'd add
some more pages, and then move on to another one. And then one day while
I was working on good ol' Best Laid Plots - I realized something almost
life changing for me. A story, that I had originally conceived when I
was 18 years old, that was a particular favourite with my kids as I
drove them to and from dance classes, was not in fact a very long book.
It was really two books. And the first one was finished! I was pretty
gobsmacked when I realized this! Yes - there was still more adventure to
be had with these characters and with that story, but it was at a
logical point to say The End (for Now). At just over 70,000 words.
So it became Best Laid Plots, Book the First. And I paid one of my kids
to transcribe the first part into the computer. Then, after circulating
it among my immediate family for feedback, began the process of editing
it.
Which is a process that is taking way longer than I had ever suspected
it would. Although, with my track record of procrastination and allowing
other life events to take up my time, it really shouldn't have been a
surprise. It's now been about two years since I began the editing
process, and I'm about half-way through. A lot has been re-writing, and
adding more material. My children - while they loved it - pointed out
that something I started writing almost 40 years ago needed a bit of,
shall we say, updating? It was woefully lacking in diversity, and the
main character gave off a bit of a creeper vibe at times (actually,
that's intentional), and certain aspects needed clarification. So, I've
been adding and expanding the story with new material. Fixing grammar
mistakes. That kind of thing. Will it be ready for publication soon? Not
bloody likely. At this point, I'm hoping it'll be published in time for
next year's When Words Collide. And as that one will once again return
to an in person format (fingers crossed!), I'll be able to stake out a
table during the Saturday night autograph/book buying frenzy. And stare
longlingly at all the passerbys, hoping that they'll stop to chat!
Hope to see you there :)
And that's quite enough for now! More next week :) Because a Writer's
Journey never ends, and it's pretty hard to shut me up!!!
Later, Lovely Meeples!