An Update

 It's been five months since I wrote this:

I started writing my childhood memoir last night. Lord willing it will be close to finished for first draft stage in only a month. I don’t know why but once I got serious and realized how I had been talking about writing for years but not actually writing, it really pushed me forward.

Where did I start? At the end. Sort of. I needed a beginning that would draw my reader in, so what better place to begin than in a pivotal part of my story? 

I found it ironic because I don't even know if THAT writing I referred to was the one that I have been working on in the last few months, or if it was a different version, or if it's the one that I lost.

Either way, it was rather embarrassing to look at this and to think I actually planned to have a first draft finished in a month? That was overly ambitious I think.

Currently I am writing. I am working on a childhood memoir, but it has evolved into something more like a dramatic fantasy than anything else. I am not done with the first draft, but I am so close I can smell the sweet aroma of victory. First draft would be a victory. Especially since I haven't written anything that long in ever. I mean, if I ever did write anything that long, I don't even remember what it was.

I recently joined Reedsy to help polish my writing skills too. I don't know why I was always so hesitant, and even unsure of my skill, but evidently my writing isn't terrible. I sent some of my writing to ChatGPT to ask what it thought of my writing, and while all writing could be perfected, it surprised me when it responded by saying that I have intermediate to advanced writing skills and that I have very strong writing. That gave me a big push in self-esteem. 

I am also toying around with the novel idea about the adopted man who tries to find his biological parents. That reads a little funny - but the man wasn't adopted as an adult; he was adopted at birth. Anyways, his biological mother is losing her memory and I have a LOT of things to iron out with that story.

I don't know if my first draft will be done by the end of the year, but I do know that it has become more clear and apparent to me that now is the time. Now is the time to focus on my writing. Forget about sharing it with the world; I don't particularly think it's helpful to share it on Facebook, for instance, because nobody cares. But Reedsy I have hope for getting feedback from others, maybe. I only have two stories there now. It appears one can only submit stories that are part of their weekly prompts, so that's a little sad. Oh well.

I'm feeling very motivated about writing now. I am also overjoyed to know that even a few people would be interested in reading my writing. It makes me feel valued and appreciated, like the things of my mind are actually worth sharing - whether fictional or not - and it encourages me.

So, I suppose this is where I say that I may be away from this particular blog for a while to focus on my writing. Who knows when I'll be back. I just know that life has its seasons. We must learn to transform and adapt to the changes of the seasons.