I’m a relatively new member of the following writing community:
- http://Writing.Com/authors/gjurrens (I’m not yet prepared to call myself an author yet, however). I’ve started an anthology of works in progress on this page where I’d welcome your review and comment!
Other blogs:
Beyond this short term banter, with my first serious work of fiction, “The Secret of Sojourn”, I’m building on my first published work of non-fiction. This first novel is unfolding far more slowly than I would have expected. Is anyone surprised? Especially you authors?
First, my personal education as a writer is taking a great deal more time than I would have thought. Who knew? The more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know and the more I feel I need to learn before “coming out”, as an author, that is. This seems to be going in absolutely the wrong direction!
For example, I’m investing precious time to learn about plot and character development, viewpoint, the rudimentary elements of suspense, action and conflict, researching historical background characters and locales, boat restoration, building up my Morse code speed, saltwater flats fishing, wood carving, grandchildren and reading for enjoyment and relaxation. The list would appear to be endless.
Yeah, right. Who am I kidding? I’m torn between a sense of passionate urgency to pursue my every life interest to its natural and logical conclusion, all within a year or two after retiring from my “real job” (a pipe dream, of course), and occupying my time with so many activities that I’ll never allow myself to be bored, even for a matter of seconds–a deep-rooted pathological fear of mine. Meanwhile, other life pressures and pleasures notwithstanding, dedicating signficantly more time to writing might be considered an act of selfish hedonism. And finally, I constantly harbor a fear of failure. Other than that, no worries.
So what’s the rush, right? Suddenly, a thousand just-right words per day seems an overwhelming but essential goal. Yes, I do know it’s just a matter of priority. This must be what other writers experience, and why so many unintentionally worship obscurity. (More) time will tell the tale.
From an obscure corner of Florida in the USA…
With pen in hand,
Gene
