Dear Gentle Readers,
Sometimes someone asks what book changed my life. My answer is Blue Lake, the first full-length novel I wrote. I don't think I ever set out to be an author. I always wrote. I wrote as a child. I wrote letters to my aunt in West Virginia. I wrote to my friend when she moved to North Carolina. I wrote to my cousin when he was in Viet Nam. I made up stories to go with the spelling words or social studies vocabulary when I was teaching.
And I always journaled. I felt better getting whatever was bothering me out of me and onto paper. When I travel, I always keep a travel journal, recording dates and specifics, like names of restaurants, exceptional sights or meals, or my emotional reaction to a specific situation.
So writing a fiction novel was a logical outgrowth when I found myself with time on my hands. I retired to take care of my mother when my father died. Oy! I exchanged one full-time job for another. When she passed, I suddenly missed my job.
My husband was still working and would get called out in the wee hours of the morning. A nice, quiet, warm house with a full pot of coffee was conducive to writing. And so, I did.
I believe everybody has a book inside them. I believe everybody should write. Whether or not anybody will pay you to read your book is another story. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't write it.
So, you, out there? Yes, YOU! Buy yourself a notebook and begin by just jotting down a few sentences a day. Maybe right before bed. Add to it as often as you can. Always start with the date. Go back and read what you wrote last week, last month. You will be surprised. And you'll feel better.
And maybe, just maybe, you'll find in that notebook a seed of a story that begs you to be written.
Hugs,
Carol
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