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 238: Technical Issues.
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 238: Technical Issues
I worked on editing three chapters of Amazing Buchanan and the Beast. There were several mistakes that needed to be fixed involving action and movements. I will be looking for more of these when I make my next pass through these chapters. There is nothing more frustrating than reading a book where in chapter 10 it gives a fact that is different in chapter 15. Readers notice things like that. There are also places where the dialogue must be punched up a bit.
I wrote four Golden Shovel Poems yesterday evening. I hope to write more this afternoon. WordPress is giving me problems. It claims my blog can’t be accessed. The thing ran slow when I attempted to post. I decided not to mess with it again until today. I seem to be having major technical problems right now. The domain name seems correct. I am paid up. Nothing showed up in my email as the notice suggested, but the site is running slow. Sometimes, I hate the way Jet Pack works.
The book I am currently reading right now and Entry 238: Technical Issues
The Giver of Stars took an interesting turn. Margery goes to the coal mines to ask Sven where she could find William Kenworth. She finds out that William lost his job during a mining accident. The union tried to help William, but they could do much after the shooting started. There is a hint that Alice’s new father-in-law uses dirty tactics to break the Union. Margery finds William and offers his sister Sophia a job at the library. They need someone to organize the place. Sophia isn’t certain she wants to accept the position because it is a white library.
Jo Jo Moyes is doing a fantastic job of capturing what life was like for coal miners and the racial and labor issues that develop between the people living there. Many of these families migrated North after World War II. They went to work in factories that were a step up from the sharecropping and mine work they performed down south. The town I live in reflects these images of the past. The car plant where my daughter and granddaughter work is about to go on strike. Things could get ugly around here soon.
What I’m listening to right now and Entry 238: Technical Issues
I put Led Zeppelin’s Latter Days on the stereo and jammed this morning.
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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