I’ve discovered that patience is not one of my virtues.
Waiting for the contract on my next book, Recovery is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done… Well, maybe there’s been harder things, but I sure can’t think of them tonight!
So, while I wait, I’m trying to keep myself occupied. I’ve been working on Book 3: Invasion, and doing some planning on the YA series, “Children of The Center”, and now, trying to keep my promise and start writing my blog… Which I have absolutely no idea how to do… I’m not even sure I’ve ever read a blog… So, I’m learning as I go. Please bear with me.
I actually did a little research, and googled “how to write a successful blog.” LOL!!! I read through it, and my eyes started glazing over before I got to the second paragraph.
It told me to write an outline, highlight hot topics, find relatable issues… blah, blah, blah.
I’ve written stories, essays, letters, and now a book and I’ve never done an outline in my life. It’s just not my style. When I’m writing, I just close my eyes and let the story form, and the words come. So, I guess that’s what I’ll do here… And cross my fingers that I don’t bore you all to death.
I want to put in a little disclaimer here… I have the most incredible editor who ever lived. She edits my books, and makes them publication ready… She is not here to edit my blog. So, punctuation and spelling errors may appear… ok, not may, WILL appear. Please forgive those. And yes, Carol, I know you’re cringing just thinking about all the errors! 😊
Ok. Deep breath. Here we go!
I’m an only child of a single mother. She worked full time and went to school full time and had a pretty active social life, so I spent a lot of time on my own. I wasn’t popular and didn’t have a lot of friends, so my very vivid imagination kept me company and made up stories, and I lived in those stories.
As I got a little older, I started writing them down. I wrote my first full story when I was nine. It was about my God mother’s children, and two people I still consider family. John and Alesha. They were orphans and were adopted by a wonderful couple, Sharla and Richard, who just happened to live on Mars… After that, each of my cousins were the star characters in my stories. Amy, became an Olympic gymnast, Keri, was lost at sea and landed on an isolated island, Tara, went on a safari to Africa and Jennifer was a famous ballerina. (I bet you guys didn’t know that did ya?)
By the time I got to middle school, I started writing stories about the people I went to school with. My 8th grade English teacher, Mr. Gulden, the most amazing teacher I ever had, noticed that I had a knack for storytelling and recommended me for a young writer’s seminar that was coming up at the University. The seminar was a two-day session. It was on a Saturday and Sunday all day. I wanted to go to that more than I wanted my next breath! But it was pricey, and we didn’t have much money. Mr. Gulden wrote a recommendation to the seminar and requested that they grant one of their scholarships to me, so I could attend. They granted the scholarship, and I had the most amazing experience of my young life. I entered late, so the fiction writing group was already full. I had a choice between nonfiction, biographies and screen plays. I chose screen plays, and with the guidance of the instructor, wrote a screen play called “Corey and the Ghost.” Corey was a friend from school, and he just seemed like he would be perfect to get to know and win over an old, cranky man, who happened to be a ghost. My screenplay won first place in the young writer’s seminar, and though it would take me about 40 years to put the skills I learned to use, I think that seminar changed my life. Mr. Gulden is no longer with us, but I hope he knows, somehow, that he was the reason I am where I am now.
For comments, suggestions, questions or just things you would like me to blog about, please use the “contact” tab on the website! I’d love to hear from you.