These books are the tip of my library “how to write”iceberg. I’d like to purchase more. Except then I’d be reading instead of writing. And I have finally committed to getting my first book written.
Getting going has been spurred along by my niece, Megan Nilsen. I have mentioned her before in this blog. The post, dated October 20, 2017, tells about her family’s adoption journey, and also about how she wrote a book. Yes, a whole book titled A Beautiful Exchange. She managed this incredible feat in spite of having four young children, a husband, and a home to care for. Adoption. A Beautiful Exchange.
I have only two of those things–a husband and a home to care for. The husband is retired and helps a lot. The home is small, 1465 square feet, plus we have a cleaning guy every other week. Danny, bless his heart. When our building shut down for the pan-damn-ick I curled up in a fetal position and mourned the loss of Danny for a week. Then we jumped on Amazon Prime and purchased a replacement for our old robotic vacuum. We now have Hazel. She keeps up with the house between Danny’s visits.
As an outgrowth of her book, Megan has launched a new business as a “Spiritual Discernment Coach.” You can find out more about her at http://www.meganbnilsen.com.
A few weeks ago I was tumbling down Facebook rabbit-holes when I came upon Megan speaking about what was up with her new direction. It hit me that I NEEDED to work with her. I’ve been stuck, nailed to the floor by fear, and unable to get my writing off the ground.
“Fear of what, Alice?”
As Joan Rivers famously said, “OH GROW UP!” Fear of FAILURE, of course!
Fear of spending a year pounding the keyboard only to find I have nothing to say, and no talent for saying it. But just like that! Here was my answer! I needed a coach. A cheerleader. A sounding board. I immediately texted Megan and asked her to take me on. “But,” I cautioned, “I’m not a Bible person. Just want to work on blasting me out of the terror zone.”
I told her the Bible stuff wouldn’t “take” with me. I explained how I had cut Sunday school as a kid. How I once did a Bible study. The other seven people in the group looked at me as if I needed to have a stake driven through my blasphemous heart.
In spite of my shortcomings, Megan took me on. She has been all the things I had hoped for, and so much more. We’ve had six sessions. Here’s what has transpired.
1) I’ve added the YouVersion Bible app to my phone.
2) I’ve purchased a Bible. I asked Megan to suggest “Bible 101” Mostly I just read parts of the New Testament. I tell Megan I don’t like the Old Testament God. She assures me they are the same God, but you coulda’ fooled me. That Old Testament guy is cranky.
3) BEST OF ALL, I’m writing! On two fronts. This blog and my novel.
Megan and I talked about how much training it takes to do a marathon. At this point, I’m just tying on my walking shoes. I’ll keep plodding along, shooting for 1000 words a day until I get it done.
My novel? It’s going to be a time travel story.
I LOVE time travel. Remember the movie “The Time Machine”?
As described on Wikipedia:

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