Entry 37: Playing Catch Up

I’ve never been good about keeping a journal. It all boils down to consistency. There are days when I skip making an entry. Life can crowd out the time I need to write down my thoughts about a day’s events. I’ve also been reluctant to pose as an expert on the writing process. If I knew anything of value about writing, my work would already be in print. I went out on a skinny limb of a tall in 2022 when I shared my 365 days of thankfulness. The exercise forced me to put myself out there with my soft belly exposed. Thank you for joining me on my journey in the written word. Therefore, I plan to keep a journal in 2023 to document my progress. I will call entry 37: Playing Catch Up.

Note: I consider editing an important part of the writing process. Editing is where all the artistry happens.

My morning writing before I started entry 37: Playing Catch Up

I got behind on my blog posts yesterday,and I hate having those days when I am so busy that something does not get done. I posted a few blogs I wrote about earlier, and I enjoy the weird stream of consciousness when I write Blitz Poems. They are 50 lines long with a set pattern of rules. That leaves me responsible for selecting a theme and running with it until I get to the end. I could get stuck writing these because they are so fun.
I rewrote chapters 21 and part of 22 of Amazing Buchanan and the Beast.

There were some descriptive elements from the first draft I kept. It’s funny, but I described the old plantation house the same way in the first draft as I imagined it to be in the rewrite two years after I wrote the original. I’ve also included other elements I thought I’d forgotten over time. It’s like I’ve spent time with these people in this setting. I read something an author wrote once about how she lives two lives simultaneously. She lives her reality and another with her characters. I’m starting to think that might be true. I wish I could remember where I read that statement and who said it. We writers are strange people.

The book I am currently reading right now and entry 37: Playing Catch Up

I will finish Alexander McCall Smith’s The Novel Habits of Happiness today. Isabel, Jamie, and Charlie have gone to investigate the house near the lighthouse where the small boy who believes he is reincarnated said he lived in a past life. She has also learned from Mrs. Lettuce that they plan to relocate to Edinburgh from London. She also learns that there are reasons why Lettuce is such a nasty man. Isabel starts to feel sorry for her old enemy.

What I’m listening to right now and entry 37: Playing Catch Up

I decided to listen to disk two of The Marshall Tucker Anthology: The First 30 years. I’m not too fond of this one as well as I do disk one. He got into some heavy country music sounds near the end of his career. I don’t think there will be a next 30 years unless the band adds some new talented members.

The thing I am most thankful for at this moment.

I am thankful not to feel so rushed today. I’ve spent the morning here at my computer moving my characters through the rooms of an old plantation house close to the city of New Orleans. Now, I get to put that aside and read a few blogs. I can’t think of a better way to spend the day.

This old lady says

Writers don’t think like other people. We spend most of our day rambling around our heads, dreaming about fictional worlds and people. We never outgrew the art of playing with imaginary friends. The best thing you can do for us is leave us alone until we decide to return to earth.

Who is Molly Shea?

Molly Shea is an accomplished fictional short story writer from Indiana who writes short stories and novels about a fictional town called Tecumseh.  To read more of her short stories and adventures, click here.

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