A New Experiment

Yeah. The title says it all.

I write mysteries, and I enjoy reading mysteries. I like to read books with strong characters, so that's also what I try to write. I read a lot of the blogs of other writers and published authors and try to glean as much information as I can from their experiences.

So I thought, why don't I share what I've learned?

And I've learned quite a lot. I started writing five years ago, and because I was just dabbling, I tried my hand at picture books. I thought the shorter the book, the easier it is, right? I admit I had no idea what I was doing. So I wrote a picture book of about five hundred words, (because that's what all the information out there said to do,) made a list of publishers, bought some large envelopes and postage, and sent my "masterpiece" out into the world. I didn't hear anything good. Mostly the letters back, if I got one at all, were all polite form letters saying a variation of "get a clue". One company didn't want to waste a whole sheet of paper on my form rejection, so I received a "no, thank you," on a fifth of a sheet of paper. Not encouraging.

So, I studied picture books. I read what authors had to say on the matter. And  I looked for advice wherever I could find it. Most of it was not helpful. In what other genre will you read advice that says, "make every word sing"? Geez.

So I quit. For a while. Okay, like a year. I was bad. I would start something new and immediately convince myself that I suck and I should stop pretending to be a writer. So I'd quit again. And it felt like I had an itch between my shoulder blades that I could never, ever reach unless I had a pen in my hand or sat at the keyboard. I know those of you who write will relate to that feeling.

Last week I recommitted to writing as a way of life. It makes me happy, if nothing else.

I write what I like to read now. I like to think I'm getting better at it. This blog will be about whatever pops into my head at the moment, and also probably a word count accountability tool for me. I'm a Texan exiled in Indiana, so I'll probably lament that some, too. If I have bad writing day, I'll also use this as a forum for my excuses.

Your patience is appreciated as I figure this thing out.

Oh, by the way, I wrote approximately 1500 words today.