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 81: The Well is Still Dry.
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 81: The Well is Still Dry
I finished another chapter of Amazing Buchanan and the Beast and enjoyed my morning pages. This chapter had a lot of action. It starts slow and heats up. Amazing gets caught by Melvin Samples, and Will rescues her when he is in the form of the beast. I am getting near the end of the book. The direction of this story has taken some twists and turns. I should write an outline for the book’s ending because I’ve moved past the previous one.
I did write a Cascade Poem today. It’s not my best, but at least I wrote something. Any movement in the creative poetic direction is better than stagnation. Water that doesn’t move grows a thick layer of green algae that can poison the fish.
The book I am currently reading right now and Entry 81: The Well is Still Dry
I read the first short story in Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger today. “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” one of Salinger’s first short stories published in The New Yorker, started this collection of short stories. It dealt with Seymour, one of the fictional characters of the Glass family we met in Franny and Zooey. This story reveals Seymour’s suicide. He came back from the military displaying a series of self-destructive behaviors. Salinger served in WWII and suffered from PTSD.
I like the way Salinger recycles the characters from the Glass family. I did the same with my characters from The Henhouse Series when I wrote my short stories for NaNoWriMo years ago. You shouldn’t throw away a cast of good characters once you’ve created them.
What I’m listening to right now and Entry 81: The Well is Still Dry, but life Must go on
I am listening to The Avertt Brothers I and Love and You. I love this group’s bluegrass mixed with a touch of rock-n-roll sound.
The thing I am most thankful for at this moment.
I am thankful I managed to write one poem today. The well might still be dry, but life goes on. The world won’t stop if I don’t write another poem.
This old lady says
Sometimes a person has it, and other times they don’t. Rooster says maybe it’s time for me to stop writing poems for a while. He claims I’ve had a pretty good run writing my poetry. The thing is, I am not a quitter, so I plan to write through the drought. The only way forward is through the thick pound of ideas.
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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