The journey continues. Yesterday I sat with a friend to walk through a new piece she had written. I am so impressed by her writing. She was able to capture raw emotion. Emotion that enveloped and permeated, taking me to depths within the character. What a rush!

That is the response to my writing that I'm going for. I can tell that I'm getting close. I think that if I keep working at it I'll get there. I'm sure of it.

What is most amazing to me is that the new skills I'm employing in my writing are becoming more automatic. I visualize the scenes in layers; sight, sound, texture, etc. Then I lay it down in words. I can see the many dimensions of my characters. I feel their emotions; hopes, fears, determinations. They live full lives somewhere inside my head.

I like their company and long to introduce them to thousands of others. I invite you to journey with me. Travel through the world of words and imagination. Your passport awaits you. Just pull it off the nearest bookshelf and allow yourself to be transported to the land of everwhere in the time of everwhen.

J

It always amazes me the things I think. Somehow I got the idea that if I improved in my writing skills the first draft would do. What a Maroon, as Bugs would say. I am learning so much about myself and my own arrogance.

I am grateful for the members of my critique group who encourage me, yet keep me in touch with reality. I am finding that I have talent, but as in anything else, that talent must be developed.

The coolest thing though (I know...they don't say cool anymore) is that I am able to learn and move beyond these unbelievable assumptions. My latest lesson is that we all doubt ourselves. A woman , whom I believe is extremely gifted and talented as a writer has questions about her abilities. It brought me back to earth. The truly good are always seeking to improve, learn more, develop their talent.

This is an area of discipline that is difficult for me. I am constantly having these heart-to-heart talks with myself about taking my dream seriously and putting in the work that will get me there.

Part of that discipline is attending seminars, conferences, and retreats. If this is really what I want then I have to set aside the time and the money to participate in these on a regular basis. It also means stepping outside my place of comfort by willingly taking chances and giving up invisibility. WOW! Scary.

J

Hi All. I've been away for a while. Life just got super busy, so busy that it is interfering with my writing. But the important thing is that I'm back.

I've been working on that YA action/adventure I spoke of in my last post. Something amazing has happened. My writing has taken a turn for the much better. I can't even tell you why. It seems like something has gelled in my brain. I think about writing my stories in different ways. I can see what's wrong with things as they come off my fingertips.

For instance, I just started the next chapter and before I could finish the page, I realized that there was no internal reaction to what the protagonist had just overheard. Normally, it would have taken comments from my critique group to point that out to me. Imagine, I saw it myself, wahoo! I'm even able to see where description is needed.

While on the one hand these are things that are not new to me, and certainly not to others, I am now seeing what all the writing books are saying. How to apply what they mean.

But all of this is a little frightening. Can I keep this up? Will I somehow forget how to apply what I've learned? I sure hope not.

I keep thinking that if I keep putting all I am learning into practice, it will become concretized in my mind and flow from my fingers. Until then I will focus on remembering the lessons learned and apply them at every opportunity.