Oh, the horror! The angst! The ... bad writing!

I recently decided to tackle a Big Project -- cleaning out my old files.

These aren't files tucked away in a file drawer. These are the Old Files, the ones stored in a box that is stored in a disused well room (cool and dry, but so out of the way even the spiders don't go there). My husband is the one who tucks things into that room. I refuse to go in (think "Root cellar" and you get the idea).

So he dragged out 3 boxes and a trunk full of ... stuff. Some of it is scrapbooks. Some of it is work-related (old writing samples, resumes, etc). I spent most of 2 mornings sorting, tossing, weeding out. I ended up with 2 boxes and a trunk and I told him, "When I go, just toss all this stuff. Nobody but me would care about it." Old letters, pictures, birthday cards. I had fun going through them, and suspect I'll have fun going through them in another 10 years or so.

Now I'm left with a stack of 3 or 4 notebooks that has my old writing in it. Some of it is surprisingly good, but the plots are very weak. I'm going to peek through them in my spare time this winter (ha! What is spare time? Who has any of that?!) The one thing that struck me as I skimmed through them was that my style is somewhat like my style today -- mostly first-person, casual, direct, straightforward. I would have thought with all the 'craft' classes & workshops I've attended, that maybe my real Voice would be changed. But it isn't.

That's sort of a relief to me. Now if I can just wade through the asinine plots ....

A consequence of relaxation

An unintended consequence of taking a bit of time away from my writing has been that I'm wondering if I want to continue writing.

Let me hasten to say I suspect I *will* continue to pursue publication. I just may do it on a different timeline and in a different manner. I'm finding that the goals I once had are no longer valid for me. I don't have interest in those things: finding an agent or a bigger venue for my books. They just don't interest me. I don't want to promote hither-and-yon about new releases. I want to do some quiet blogging, chatting, and talking about them.

So I'm setting about creating a new set of goals. I'm hoping to have a new idea in mind of where I want to go within a week or two. I'll give myself 2 years to reach the milestones on the list. At the end of 2 years, I'll check again where I am and see if I'm close, if I care, etc.

It's all so very interesting, this publishing ride of mine....

Ignore this space ... it's a test

I'm trying to set up a feed to my Amazon page. Since I've never done this before, I anticipate some trial and error. So you may see a test post here and there.

Ignore me until I say otherwise.  8)

A place overlooked by the world

I'm in Iowa right now, visiting family.

This town is like a microcosm of what America used to be like. People don't lock their cars (or their houses). People know who you are and why you're in town (to visit family). Guys bag your groceries at the grocery store and carry it out for you -- and they wear neckties and white shirts! Everyone is polite, the streets are clean, and it's amazingly low key.

I love this place. I wish I could bottle the essence of this place and keep it with me forever. Seriously. It's a balm to my soul. Which is why I visit as often as I do.

A bullet dodged

I woke up today and my cell phone appeared to be dead.

Puzzling, since it worked last night but this morning...nada. I plugged it in and charged it fully but still no phone. Wouldn't turn on.

So I pried apart the decorative covering I had purchased for it, removed the battery, reinserted, and voila: phone.

Sometimes the simple 'wins' are the best, aren't they? What was going to be a gloomy day spent at the Verizon store, arguing with clerks, has turned into: what should I do with my Sunday now?

Life is sometimes Very Good.