Stop and start again!

Starting my manuscript in 2011.

Stop!

A writer friend, Patti Digh, posted that her child said from the back seat, “Stop struggling and get it done.”  I decided this statement would be the renewal ticket to my blog.

I have been struggling with how to make time again for my blog.  I loved writing it and hearing from you.  It was a worthwhile action. I loved it.  So, why did I STOP? 

I’ve been writing, rewriting, editing, soliciting readers to read my manuscript, and I am still not finished with my book.  It is getting better but the process has exhausted me.  Not the writing, I enjoyed recalling the memories of my first classroom in the inner city of New Orleans. I basked in the writing zone for the last two years. It is the editing that makes me crazy. Next hurdle, how will I get it published?

First, it is humbling for an English teacher of thirty-three years to make so many manuscript errors.  One of my key problems is spacing and managing Word.  I should have taken typing.  I should have taken a class on how to use Word.  I didn’t.  I always think I can figure it out.  Well, I should have taken time to take those classes.

Secondly, everyone that reads my story gives me affirmation and advice.  For example, son Adam said to cut out parts about Denny and me because the story was to focus on the challenge of integrating schools in 1967 for a first year teacher.  That was great advice.  So, I did that.  Next reader, my sweet daughter-in-law, Christine, who is a voracious reader said, “ I need to see more of you and see what you look like.”  She was right.  I had not described me, the main character, because it was in three of the chapters Adam and Holly suggested to cut.  Holly Miller, my established author and editor friend, had given similar advice as Adam and suggested I start at the most exciting point.  So, I did, but those cut chapters were about Denny and me.  All of this wisdom was right and needed.  However, now I am rewriting the beginning and adding more about me.  Another writer friend, Diane Drake, suggested I put in more inner conflict.  That is what I am dong in my edits now. 

           

I wanted you to know that I have inner conflict about not keeping up my blog.  So, I am going “ to stop struggling and get it done.”  Yep, every Friday you can expect a post from me.  Please comment and push “follow” to help me build some reader members.  In order for a publisher to even want to read my manuscript, they need to see I have followers.  Thank you for those who have followed me.  It’s going to happen.  Thanks for reading every Friday. 

           

Now, I have made a commitment, I will get it done.

My Respite From Life and Blogging

I have been on a two month respite.  My husband and I chose to stay two months in Florida this year to escape the winter weather.  We just “dwelled.”  It was wonderful just to “be” for a change.  

This personal retreat is good for our marriage.  We choose an unpopulated part of Florida, and we know few people there.  We must rely on each other for comradeship, encouragement, entertainment, and events of the day.  After forty-four years, we know each other well.  So, we both exercise at the beginning of our day.  Denny bikes, and I do yoga and walk.  We both enjoy reading, so we go to the beach and sit and read.  We may take a simple lunch like an apple or peanut butter sandwich, but we just enjoy the sounds of the surf, the smell of the salt, the wildlife at Stump Pass, and shell collecting and beach walks.  It fills our day with so much peace. Just being one with the sea revives me.

One of my favorite times at the beach is late afternoon when the sun is cooler.  I perch my sand chair into the water and just let the waves gently bathe my feet and legs.  All I see is teal sea.  All I feel is the sun’s warmth and tepid waters.  I take in the salty air into my lungs and breathe deeply this fresh scent.  I stare at the level horizon and can feel my brain relax.  I reach down and pluck a new shell that the incoming tide brings to me. Its beauty is absorbing.  I feel the slick finish designed by the sea.  I roll the shell in my hands and peep into its crevices.  I marvel at the dainty swirled top and the elongated edges.  The gentle salmon entrance color creates a warmth within.  This is a treasure from the sea.  It is an unexpected gift of this day.  I delight in the water, the sun, the splashes, and my new found shell.  

I thank God for this beauty and unexpected gift.  I praise Him for His creation and all the beauty He has provided.  I feel His presence in the water, the swirling white clouds above, and the sifting sand below me.  I realize that I too am one of His many creations.  I am touched by the Almighty this day.  For this I am grateful.

It is because of days like this, I have not blogged.  I did not have a great internet connection and could not post my blogs.  I repeatedly lost them.  So, I decided I must need a respite from blogging as well.  I missed my blog buddies, my readers, and those of you who take time to comment.  I am at a point that I wonder if I should continue.  I send this message today to all my faithful followers and friends.  I have missed you.