A Writer's Week: What's Your Story?

Hello. It's been a lean couple of weeks, writing wise. Things have just been so busy in all the other facets of my life that I haven't been able to concentrate on writing at all. Last week, was filled with long days at work, and preparation for my Lions Club's annual dance on Friday.That went off extremely well, but there was no time to even look at the book.

This week has been a little bit better. Still long days at work, but that's it. So, I was able to begin to do some editing. I have about half the book written, but now I'm going back over what I've written so far with an eye to add some depth to this new world and to flesh out and revise the plot line. I may have to rewrite the beginning to fit in with the true theme of the book, which I stumbled upon later on in the story.

I learned something very important this week--everyone has a story to tell. I visited Mr. Regan's fourth grade class. It was great. The kids had a lot of questions, and I learned that there were quite a few writers in the class. One girl was even working on a full length book. Here are some pictures:

It was interesting to discover that their characters also seemed to have a mind of their own. They were excited to learn that other writers also have this experience of the characters sort of leading the way through a story.

I also had a great conversation this week with a legally blind octogenarian who has written a book of his own quips and quotes. This guy, Rudy, is a real character, and it was fun spending the morning with him at a Lions fishing tournament for the visually impaired. He gave me a copy of the manuscript to look over. It's really funny, and most of his observations really hit home.

Then, there was someone who I see every time I go to the Y. I told him that I'd written a book. He said that he loves to tell stories about his family history, and that his family is always after him to write them down. I told him that, if nothing else, he should record them.

So, not a lot of writing, and a little bit of editing this week. But I really enjoyed talking with these folks about their writing and their aspirations. We're all kindred spirits as my friend Anne Shirley of Green Gables fame likes to say. This week, I'm going to finish my preliminary edit and then the way will be clear to keep writing. I'll let you know how it how it went next week.