October 22, 2013 Have you ever noticed...

I experienced an interesting, albeit, far from unusual phenomenon yesterday.  I put out a lot of feelers with regard to publishing companies, writers' workshops and the like, and guess what?  My email box is suddenly filled with offers to sell me stuff!!!

For a nominal fee, I can do everything from learn how to turn my blog into a book (only one?  is my first thought), self-publish (prices range from wanting to publish something just for friends and family all the way up to New York Times bestseller list), or have my manuscript professionally edited.  Were I not such a cynic, the sudden interest would be overwhelming. 

But I am a cynic, maybe to the extreme, especially when someone offers me a handbook, then sends me a marketing pamphlet claiming to be the most honest and fair purveyor of such services available. 

Do they think I was born yesterday???  This is an age of readily available information.  It would take very little effort on my part to unearth arguments for both sides of their claim!  Certainly, I would have to judge each evaluation as well as the number of evaluations for each side of the argument, but frankly, if I were considering spending more than a couple of hundred dollars for something, you'd better believe I'd do my research!!!  Especially if it involves achieving my dreams!!!

I suppose they wouldn't make their claims if they didn't, to some degree, follow W.C. Fields' belief that "there's a sucker born every minute." and, in fact, be lining their pockets with more than a few of those suckers.

I'm sure there are a lot of us out there who fancy ourselves writers, and many who are willing to plop down a couple of grand to get their "baby" in print, so, like everything else, there is a place for this type of service. 

I'm not ruling out the idea of self-publishing and, in fact, will probably consider it seriously for my first offering, but I may be in the minority who don't want to just get their name in print so they can say they have.  I truly want to put out a quality product that people will buy, appreciate, share and recommend.  I want to put something out there which will make people say "Wow!  This is amazing!  I can't wait for her next one!"

High aspirations?  Maybe.  But I guess I'm getting a little heady, as I'm discovering that people have been reading my first blog, and reading it on a regular basis!  I may be a simple girl with simple thoughts, but I'm finding that people actually relate to those simple thoughts, and take something away with them when they read my words!

I've always been awed by the likes of Mercedes Lackey and Anne McCaffrey in their ability to create fantasy worlds which pull me in and make me love and hate their characters and what they represent.  I pore over the characterizations of Bradbury and Asimov, and Heinlein's creative brain has often challenged me to follow where his words take me.  Nora Roberts' ability to completely shift gears and be a different author completely has set the stage for seeing possibilities in the different genres I have attempted.

My "leisure" time is more often spent reading or writing these days, though I have to admit my one television addiction is "Castle".    (and only a small part of that is how easy Nathan Fillion is on the eyes!)  I'm enthralled by watching how his mind works to create scenarios from a few random facts. 

So while I continue to work in fits and starts on a book about my experience with certain traumatic life events, another part of me has pulled out the book I wrote for my kids so many years ago, with thoughts of giving it a facelift and illustrations.  Meanwhile, the search for one thing has led to the discovery of many others, not to mention some pretty stunning surprises. 

As if it wasn't enough to learn from someone who was there that I declared my intention to be a writer at the tender age of 10, I now find that the place in which I currently find myself is also a reprise dating back nearly 20 years!

My first thought, of course, was, "What the hell took you so long?"   Which is quickly followed by the most honest answer I have.  "Fear".

It takes a tremendous leap of faith and a Fool's complete trust that everything will turn out even better than expected to do a complete shift of gears at any point in one's life, but to do so in this place where I am now, with a mortgage and car payment, animals who depend on me, that proverbial bird in the hand...

This is quickly followed by a question of my dedication and commitment, despite the fact that I wake up earlier these days, perform my morning medicating and feeding, grab a cup of coffee, and sit down at the computer to research or write pretty regularly, often at the expense of chores and errands. 

Even yesterday, I got so wrapped up in researching resources for my new career path that it was nearly 4:00 by the time I finally went out to get gas and food for the week!  (and let me tell you, after 4:00 on a Monday is NOT the time to try to hit Trader Joe's and Costco!  They are both filled with harried, stay at home moms and dads who just want to get their errands run before they have a million other things demanding their attention!)

And yet, the errands were run, the laundry done and the dishwasher running before I went to sleep last night, so, in my own small way, I guess I have it in me to juggle it all even as "all" means just me and the cats. 

As I sit here spilling my guts yet again, I'm thinking "But in all of those hours, I didn't write anything!"  

The other side of my brain chimes in, "Are you freaking kidding me???  What about the three blog posts you put out yesterday, including two on a brand, new blog which took some time to set up???  Just because none of it was a best selling novel does not mean you didn't write!  From where I sit, putting some words on the page is writing!  If nothing else, you are practicing your craft each and every day!"

Oh great! Now, not only am I getting head slaps from the Universe, my own brain is duking it out!    I feel like I should be saying "Uncle!" at this point!!!

On top of it all, I started watching a writing seminar on YouTube and have been tasked with a very simple project:  determine what it is my character wants.  So far, I've thought of and tossed out a whole bunch of ideas, each one, seemingly, more boring and trite than the last!!!

At long last, I have a start.  It doesn't have to be the final answer, but for now, I'll just go with my character wanting a more exciting life, and see where I go from there.  (if nothing else, it opens up a lot of opportunity for the poor character to get knocked all over hell and back!  Heinlein's "Job" springs to mind here!)

As the idea above came to me from sitting here, typing out my thoughts, I guess cranky brain is right.  Writing is writing, and it gets those old creative juices flowing.

It seems that this new blog is going to be where I do a lot of my brain dumps and creative brainstorming sessions from here on out, leaving the original one for inspiration, gratitude and the like.  I rather like the idea of separating the two at this point. 

And so I say, "Write on!"