From Simple to Milestone

In December 2004, I decided to try a new forum for me called blogging. My first entry, “Dream About Full-time Writing?” is still out there—one of the characteristics of these entries unless the creator removes them. For my second entry, I asked, “Why Begin Writing Books?” For my third entry, I wrote “ I Resolve Not to Resolve But to Change.” Can you tell it’s written on December 31, 2004?

Over the months, these entries about the writing life have improved and changed (at least I hope they are improving) and my number of readers continues to increase. I know the appearance of these entries definitely improved (thanks, Darlene). In recent months, I added a search tool to the blog in the right-hand column. You can type in key words like rejection or submissions or manuscripts or children or bestsellers or books or whatever—and easily find my different entries. If no one else uses it, I use it almost every day in my writing and editing life.

Like any worthwhile venture, I’ve taken my share of criticism for this effort on the writing life. Some people wonder why I do it or they dream up other ways I should be using my time. Others have written and told me I need a copy editor. You know who you are. I’ve encouraged those folks to not read it. I spell check it and put it out there—not laboring over every word like a book manuscript or a magazine article or a book proposal. It’s a different quick format where I hopefully have provided encouragement and insight and a slice of what I’m learning as an editor and writer (and it’s a continual learning curve here).  There is a lot of my life over the last year and a half that I’ve left out and that’s OK. This place is focused and themed and directed (something else to think about for your own writing).  Why am I rumbling about the journey? Don’t worry, I have every intention of continuing. This post marks my 500th entry about the writing life and it seemed appropriate to mark the milestone.  They say a new blog is launched every eight seconds and many of them have half a dozen entries (or less). Consistency and volume count for something.

I’ve always loved the comic pages of the newspaper. I’ve got a small collection of books from one of my favorites “Shoe.” Several years ago I protested when the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph took Shoe out of their newspaper. Now I have to read it online since it is also not in the Arizona Republic.  The humor in comics is a great teacher for writers—because good humor is always based on some truth told in a funny and thought-provoking manner. While I haven’t seen all of them, I’ve enjoyed Tales from the Slush Pile which appears in Publisher’s Weekly. It follows the trials and tribulations of a children’s book writer. Just look at installment #39 about how writers get lost in their writing. Or the first installment about how everyone is trying to write the great American novel (more truth than fiction here or so it seems to this editor).  I created this little link to take me to the latest installment each time.

Until my next entry, don’t forget to find moments to laugh and keep writing. I’ll do the same.