Mood:
accident proneNow Playing: Twila Paris: "I Will Praise You!"
Topic: My Writing Life
I, like most of you who will read this Blog, have been writing for most of my life. For the past two years, I have been working to produce a finished mystery novel manuscript(1).
That is quite a distance from the daily Journals(2) (I've been told that girls write Diaries, and guys write Journals). I began when I was barely 8 years old. For all that time (over 42 years now), I have thoroughly enjoyed being a writer.(3)
Now, I am becoming an author.(4) The way I understand it, you are a writer when you are creating a manuscript. You become an author when you sell your work. I am entertaining some offers from publishers for selling them my manuscript (ms). I will write observations about my writing life here on an irregular basis. Stories, personal glimpses into life, and especially the writing life.
Many people want to know just what it is that writers and/or authors actually do, besides the endless "hunting and pecking on a keyboard." I am actually a very fast typist, when I have a full meal in my belly!
Many of the questions I hope to answer here are questions I have myself. What does it feel like to get that first contract, or that first check? How busy IS an author while the book is being prepared for the bookseller near you? Where do you go for motivation, or inspiration for your work? These, and many other questions are the "stock in trade" for the author. I look forward to discovering my answers to them.
And that is the reason for THIS Journal. From the sublime to the ridiculous, I'll share with you as I learn. It should be interesting. It may be exhilarating (I sure hope so), or it may be exasperating (I'm sure those times will happen, too), but I hope it never becomes boring!
I'm looking forward to this part of my journey. I've been preparing for these steps a very long time. I hope I like it, and I hope you will enjoy it too.
So, let's be off, shall we?
Good luck on your journey.
Bud
New Writing Terms Today:
(1) MS : Manuscript or manuscript. ( NOT MicroSoft®!) Is often known by many other (expletive deleted) names. A child offered up to God for his Blessing and care.
(2)Journal: What this is. I just don't fancy being a "Blogger". That sounds like I have amphibians for cousins. (Those rumors have NOT been substantiated.) To "Blog" is about the same as being accused of committing a "GoogleWhack".
(3) Writer: Really nice guy (or gal) who fancies their words so profound that total strangers will pay good, hard-earned money just to read them. A dreamer. A tee-totaller.
X I am here
(4) Author: Lazy bum who cons strangers out of their money a little at a time. Offers "entertainment" at a bargain price. A nice person who gets paid to agitate writers. Has been known to take the very rare spirits, usually at Holiday celebrations.
NB: After about an hour of trying to justify the line spacing in this entry, I had to start laughing. It's part of the theme of the template, folks. I really was remembering all those high school papers with erasers and carbon paper. Oh, Man! I did everything but reach for the platen!!
