Let the Writing Begin

lovingsixtyfive

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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.

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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:

Scientist H. George Wells (Rod Taylor) builds a time machine, and despite the warning from his friend David (Alan Young) against “tempting the laws of providence,” decides to visit the future. Jumping ahead 14 years, he observes changes in women’s fashion. Jumping ahead 40, he meets David’s son (also Young) amid a terrible war. Finally, he travels thousands of years ahead to discover a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by humanoid Eloi and the monstrous Morlocks that feed on them.
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I probably need to watch it again.  Rod Taylor was a cutie, and his time machine was so creative.
My time travel vehicle came to me in a dream.  An outhouse!  I woke up thinking, “THIS IS THE BEST EVER TIME MACHINE IN THE WORLD!  I will call the book “Outhouser”.
Once the cobwebs cleared I realized the outhouse transportation was a shitty idea. (see what I just did there?  Outhouse?  Shitty?  Yup, I’m a punny rocket scientist writer.)
Fortunately, more recent dreams have led to less stinky conveyances.
Today I met with Megan. She was glad to hear the outhouse is OUT.
Megan and I talked about training for a marathon.  You don’t just start running the race.   You train.  For months and months.  At this point, I’m simply tying on my running shoes, stretching, and getting prepared.  If I focus on writing at the pace of 1000 words a day, eventually I will come up with the 50,000 to 75,000 needed for a YA novel.
Then it will take time to edit.  And on and on it goes.   But that’s all putting the cart before the writing.
She asked how I plan to keep my work in order.
 “I have no idea,”  I said. “How to keep this all sorted out is puzzling.”
She suggested an application called Scrivener.  It can help me organize my writing/research/random bits of flotsam and jetsom.  I’ve downloaded it and will begin studying the why’s and wherefore’s of it tomorrow. When Danny is cleaning the house! Yay for Danny Day!
As I’ve perused my earlier blog posts I realize I might, in fact, be kinda’ a Bible-ish person after all.  Or at least a believer that accessing a higher power kicks down doors.
Walking a Marathon. A painful, enlightening experience. If you can endure a marathon, you can endure anything.
It’s now Friday morning.  I have our little home all to myself.  Jim is off to a doctor’s appointment.  And Danny called to postpone his visit.  He is concerned he has been exposed to the virus.  He is off to have his third Covid19 test.  We appreciate his caution.  I promised him I’d save our dirt for another week so he has something to look forward to.
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Stay Healthy, everyone.  Now, I’m going to dig into my free trial of Scrivener.

Published by lovingsixtyfive

Artist, Writer, Positive Thinker, Colorer outside the lines, Product Designer, Rocket Scientist...(Okay, that part is a lie.) I'm a sixty five year old just loving the journey.