Literary Conversations

Another Sunday afternoon and ABC family is playing Harry Potter and Sorcerer's Stone. I walked into the den where my youngest daughter was watching the Halloween feast in the Great Hall. We both drooled over the table laden with festive treats aplenty. She sighed and asked, "Why didn't you send me to Hogwarts?" To which I replied, "You're only 9. You have to be 11 to attend Hogwarts." Seriously, who doesn't want to go to Hogwarts? I've got two years to figure out how to send her there.

Another daughter was immersed in The Final Descent, Rick Yancey's fourth and final book in his Monstrumology series. She looked up when I entered the room, her eyes rimmed red. "[Name of one of our favorite characters]," she said sadly. "I know," I sympathized. She had just read about his death. Later, she came down still looking a bit sad. "Did you finish?" I asked. "Yes, but I'm sad because it's over." "Me too," I said. "I wish he could have written more." Then, "I'm going to text M [her friend who also loves the series but hasn't started Book 4 yet] to tell her I finished."

Then we watched this together.

We both declared, "It looks good!" and had a discussion about how we hope the book translates well to screen. We're keeping our fingers crossed.

Sprucing Up the Blog

I decided to spruce up the blog a bit as an early resolution to post more often. It's hard to come back though. I wonder if everyone else has moved on and will even notice if I post. I've noticed a decline in blog participation and posting in general which makes me sad, since it's the social media that I prefer.  I am on Facebook now but rarely post. It's more a means to keep in touch with family and a few friends. As far as Twitter, I most likely will join next year, and again, my participation will be minimal.

I've always been more of an observer, and I'm just fine with that. It's my nature. I'm a self-professed introvert and Hufflepuff (even if the Pottermore sorting placed me in Slytherin). I used to believe that I had to change these parts of my personality. Be more aggressive, assertive, seek out the spotlight, and toot my own horn. But I'm comfortable with who I am now, flaws and all. And even though I still haven't finished a first draft of a novel yet, I will. It might even be by the end of this year.

So why all of this reflection? Maybe because I had a birthday a couple of weeks ago. I'm someone who hasn't minded getting older. Each day is a gift that I try not to take for granted. I'm not getting any younger, but I'm grateful for each and every day. My schedule has slowed down a bit after an absolutely crazy fall. Having no free time for two months really starts to wear you down. Throw in a few personal hardships and something has to give. The pattern for me over the past few years has been fall = little to no writing. I've tried to fight against it, but it's time for acceptance not guilt. Now that I do have the time (even though a little voice has been whispering, "You should be Christmas shopping") I'm drawn to work on my WIP. THAT makes me giddy happy. Why? Because that truth speaks to me. It says, "You're a writer and and nobody can take that away." Only I can decide if I'm not. I still love my WIP and fresh ideas keep flowing, even after a long break away. So I'll continue to  move forward writing Jude's story as it unfolds in my brain and hopefully I'll get to share it with the world some day.

In the meantime, my intention is to blog once a week and hopefully keep in touch with some writer friends. I hope some of you will stop by and say "Hi." Writing can be a lonely venture, but it doesn't have to be if we listen and support each other.