Everything I always wanted to know about writing and am trying to find out.

I’m embarking on my very first blog.  I usually have no shortage of things to say, so I’ve been told I should blog.  It’s my hunch friends and family figure if I have a daily or weekly quota of words I just have to get out of my brain, a blog may lessen what they have to read or listen to.  I don’t think that’s how it works, but we’ll see.

I am a writer.  Those were hard words to wrap my head around once upon a time.  Now, I’m committed.  Hopefully soon I can amend that to published writer.  One of my favorite authors, Janet Evanovich, in her book How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author, said to tell people you’re a writer.  Commit.  One down.

I’ll tell you up front, I have a pretty easy time writing dialog.  Plotting, description and imagery?  Not so much.  I’m working on those.  I found two writing groups that are proving invaluable.  In one group, we discuss our works in progress, and have an “assignment” for the next meeting.  We just throw ideas out there and then choose one we mutually agree upon.  Those assignments get me out of my comfort zone and teach me lots.  In the other group, we bring samples of writing for critique.  That fine group of individuals found more holes in a very short piece I thought was essentially done than I found in my pastrami and Swiss sandwich.  I was thrilled!

After a little time to ruminate on that story, I edited it – heavily.  I still wasn’t happy with it, so I rewrote the top third or so and edited the rest – again.  I’ll post those soon, and you can let me know which version you think is best.

Some of the topics I’d like to post in the near future are:

• Plotting: organic vs outlined
• Punctuation and grammar: when to ditch it and when ta not to (channeling Tow Mater there)
• Beginnings, middles and ends
• Copyrighting
• How long should a novel, novelette or short story be and how does that translate to manuscript pages?

And on and on and on.  You get the idea.  Some of these topics I have researched, discussed and can provide resources, others I’m working on, and some I’m just throwing out there because I have no idea.  That’s where the struggling comes in.