Entry 249: Procrastination

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 249: Procrastination.

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 249: Procrastination

I fast-forwarded through five chapters of Amazing Buchanan and the Beast. There wasn’t much cleanup work to be done. I enjoy how the story unravels and am surprised I’m not bored. The sad thing is that I won’t finish my goal to have the editing done on this work by the first day of September. I still like working on the story, but wanted to accomplish a few other things before I started NaNoWriMo.
Here’s the thing: I have sixteen books at some stage of completion. Most of them are in my Henhouse Series.

My goal when I started this journal was to track my steps to publication. I don’t know why I am so hesitant to achieve this goal. Maybe I fear making a huge mistake. I sort of feel like I lack the marketing and book cover design skills to do a good job with the publishing process. A part of me worries that my stories will languish in oblivion if I do a bad job. They are doing that now, so maybe I need to try it. This seems to be the biggest area of my life where I procrastinate.

The book I am currently reading right now and Entry 249: Procrastination

I am still reading the second short story in Eudora Welty’s The Golden Apples. June Recital is divided into two parts. We learn the abandoned house once belonged to the MacLain family. Snowdie took in boarders until she had to sell the place and move away. The remainder of the story deals with the piano teacher who rented rooms in the boarding house. The book’s title may have been taken from the last line of a William Butler Yeats poem, The Song of Wandering Aengus. I am moving through the pages slowly. These stories are so deep they take letting them settle in the mind before you move on.

What I’m listening to right now and Entry 249: Procrastination

I listened to Tchaikovsky this morning. He is one of my favorite classical composers. His music is so light and airy. There was a time when I avoided classical music. I think I thought it was elitist. The sound was so far from my upbringing that I considered myself disloyal for listening to it. Now, I know music is music. It doesn’t matter where it comes from if it is good.

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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