Entry 311: It’s The Story That Matters

Keeping a journal has never been one of my strongest pursuits. I find it boring talking about myself for an extended period. This year, I wrote blog entries telling the tales about the things I’ve encountered along my writing road. On this writer’s journey, I’ve run into bumps, got stuck in ditches, and sometimes the scenery becomes tedious. The repetition of editing can become monotonous. Computer glitches can become obstacles along the path as tiresome as construction zones. It can leave a person stuck in technical traffic for hours. The best solution to such problems is sometimes to drive a different route. Please fasten your seat belts and prepare for this new stage on my writing journey. Therefore, I titled this post Entry 311: It’s The Story That Matters.

Remember, editing is an important part of the writing process. Editing is where the artistry takes place. It’s where a writer thinks with their head to catch mistakes. Editing is the sweet spot where the delete button comes in handy. It’s where the creator decides which words belong to the reader and which ones remain with them.

My morning pages and Entry 311: It’s The Story That Matters

Today’s word count is 2,006. One of the big lessons I learned doing NaNoWriMo centers around simply writing the story without paying much attention to the word count. If you focus on that, you’ve lost before you started. The amount of words you write doesn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things. I don’t even check the word count until I stop writing for the day. Who cares anyway? It’s the story that matters.

What I am currently reading and Entry 311: It’s The Story That Matters

I finished reading Lelia Meacham’s Dragonfly. That means I am taking a break to pick the next book to read. I always give it a day or two to digest the last book. Martha Hall-Kelly’s The Lilac Girls waits on my shelf for me to pick it up. I might continue the World War II theme with this one.

The music I selected today and Entry 311: It’s The Story That Matters

I listened to Melissa Etheridge’s The Road Less Traveled while I wrote my NaNoWriMo words today.

The stuff going on in my life at the moment and Entry 311: It’s The Story That Matters

(This is the part that might get boring. You can skip it if you want.)

The weather turned rainy and cold today. It appears winter is at our doorstep. The leaves on the trees will fall to the ground soon; all we’ll have left are naked branches. Rooster and I spent some time with our oldest daughter. It looks like the strike will end soon. The U.A.W. membership will vote on the new contract. She’ll return to work, and life will move forward.

Rooster and I spent a quiet evening at home. Our son-in-law and my granddaughter’s boyfriend fixed the motorcycle Roosteer recently bought. The rain fell too hard for him to bring it to the house. This bike is the one that broke down while he was riding it home after he bought it.

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.

Be sure to follow Molly on Twitter!