Starting Something New

I’ve expended a lot of mental energy on the beginnings of the writing process this week, as it seems inspiration has finally struck. I’ve been doing a lot of reading – a lot of research, and my bookmarks tab has been filled with references on Greek mythology, topographical maps of the Southeastern United States, the geneology of common last names for several countries, and population statistics for the counties of Kentucky. Perhaps none of these things really make sense laid out in a list, but they’re all coming together as individual parts into a workable plot that I hope someone will be interested in reading.

It has been a really long time since I’ve started something new. In my writing, I’ve always stuck to short stories and micro fictions that don’t span lot of words. It’s the inherent perfectionism and second-guessing I have as an editor that tends to stunt progress on anything longer than shorts. I will start writing with the entire story arc in my mind, jump back and forth with the scenes that come clearly to mind, and then later have trouble connecting them all together. I start changing things and write myself into a corner I cannot get out of. And then I abandon what I think is actually a good idea for far too long in a notebook or a Word document that I’m too scared to go back to because of my previous failure.

I know this isn’t the best way to write a story, I do. Which is why I’m trying to do it properly this time, plan it out, outline the thing and try to make it work with my habit of sporadic scene-writing. And maybe, since I’m trying to do better at sharing my process with people, it will encourage me to actually produce something they can read.

So, anyone interested?

My Ideal Bookshelf (Part Two)

(Sorry for the poor quality. My editions are not very colorful and I was working with the camera on my phone.)

So I attempted to explain the reasoning behind each of my choices for my version of The Ideal Bookshelf, but it got repetitive after a time because, unsurprisingly enough, I chose many of them for the same reasons. I also have the tendency to get too wordy when explaining simple concepts. So enjoy, instead, a short essay which is my attempt to condense my thoughts into a readable format. It doesn’t cover how I feel about all of the works I chose, but I’m hoping that putting this out here will encourage someone to strike up a conversation and ask, because I feel I could talk for days.

New Year’s Resolutions

I missed it when the clock struck midnight. Wasn’t paying any attention; missed the countdown to zero. Oops.

But today, the morning after the quiet celebration, I refuse to miss out on the somewhat obligatory listing out of my New Year’s resolutions. I’ve never made it through an entire year successfully (who has?), but perhaps 2013 will be a year of more than one change.

So, here it is, in all it’s (non)glory:

1. I resolve to write every day. Even if it’s bad. Even if it’s not a lot to put on a page. I constantly call myself a ‘writer,’ but I rarely ever finish what I start. I leave it half-formed and let it sit and stale in the air for a while. So I resolve to write, and I resolve to finish what I write so I can actually call myself a writer one of these days.
2. On that note, I resolve to read. The past few years have left me with little energy to read the kinds of books I want to read. Instead, I’ve exhausted myself on books I have to read. Now that I have the time, I resolve to take up the neglected books that have been sitting on my “To Read” bookshelf for so long.
3. I resolve to travel. Somewhere, anywhere. I want to save some of my money and go somewhere I’ve never been before.

Simple enough resolutions, I think? Certainly do-able.