Getting Started

Alright...  First of all, I guess it's Stephenie Meyer who really inspired me to start writing again.  I used to write a lot when I was in high school and in college.  In fact, when I was at Florida State University I had an English professor who was encouraging me to expand a short story I wrote into a novel because she really thought it was that good.  I was mimicking Faulkner who has been a favorite of mine since I was in high school.

Anyway, I was reading a few different series of books (gotta admit -- I love to read series over stand alone books) and I was thinking, "This is crap -- I could do better!"  But I wasn't motivated.  Then I finally bought all of the Twilight series and sat down and read them and I loved them so much that I just HAD to start writing.  I wanted to be able to produce something as wonderful and intriguing.  I was totally obsessed while I was reading them.  I'd climb into bed and read for an hour or so every night before going to bed, and all night long I'd dream about what might be coming up in the next chapter.  It was exhausting!

When I was finished, there was such a tremendous let-down.  Not because I was disappointed in the books, mind you.  I was sad because there wasn't another.  I wasn't ready to hear "and they all lived happily ever after."  I wanted MORE!!

So, without another Twilight series book, I went back to reading more of these "I can do better than that!" series of books.

At any rate...  I had been having all these ideas for stories lately and writing them down on whatever I had handy.  I'd write on a sticky note or a sheet of paper when I was at work, then tuck it into my bag to deal with when I got home.  I'd type things into Word documents on my computer.  I'd dream at night of what I could write about.  The problem for me was that I was still in the Twilight mind-set.  Everything was vampires and werewolves.  I didn't want to use that -- I wanted something fresh and different.

I thought of an old story idea I'd had over a year ago and found it on my computer.  I thought I'd actually WRITTEN some, but apparently I only composed it in my mind because all I have is a rough timeline saved in my notes.  But I took that and combined it with another thought I'd had.  And no -- there will not be any vampires, werewolves, or other shapeshifting kinds of creatures in my story I'm currently working on.  There will, however, be a ghost, but she has a lot of work to do so that she can cross over.  She has to save her friends, set things right with her best friend, and make peace with her fate so that she can cross over.

I wrote 17 pages today.  It doesn't sound like much at the moment, but it took me ALL DAY.  I don't know if it's any good, but I like what I have so far.  As I move forward I will be better able to move backwards, too, and fill in gaps that will need to be filled to tie in with future events.

Oh well...  I think my brain is about frazzled now and I've got to start getting the kids ready to go to bed.  Wish me luck as I try to dream tonight of how to make my 4th chapter unfold...  Big things are about to happen!