I’ve never been good at 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 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 this post Entry 168: Reading Writing and Listening.
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 168: Reading Writing and Listening
I moved through more chapters in Amazing Buchanan and the Beast than I managed yesterday. More places need smoothing because of the action I moved forward in the book. I am in the middle of all the activities, and I need to slow the pace a bit and then increase the tension at the end. I can’t wait to see where Amazing and Will go from here. This section is part of the story where they get to know one another.
I am trying to get ahead on my blog posts. The Free Verse Poems are fun to write. Life Lessons are becoming more difficult. It’s hard to come up with stuff since I have only learned so many life lessons. These posts are mostly rambling stream-of-consciousness writings─ what Elizabeth Lyon calls rifft writing. Blues and jazz musicians do this all the time. They start playing notes until they amount to something. That’s the approach I am taking with my Life Lessons.
The book I am currently reading right now and Entry 168: Reading Writing and Listening
I’ve started reading Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. The story of the Dashwood sisters seems to center around Elinor and Marianne. The family has fallen on hard times when Henry dies and leaves everything to his son by his first wife. They leave Norland Park and move to Barton Cottage, located on the property of the Middletons.
Austen’s writings seem to focus on middle-class English women. The Dashwood women don’t have many choices in life, but I wonder if they are better off than the servants who work for them. How did the women who worked for small wages fair in relationship to these women?
What I’m listening to right now and Entry 168: Reading Writing and Listening
I was in the mood for a little classical today, so I put on Great Overtures and listened for a while. Some days you have to get your classical groove on.
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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