Yet another writing project

So my kids have said some unusual things over the course of their lives.  Most of the time, the things that they say are adorable.  When I share said "adorable" quotes with family and friends on social media, I invariably get the same comment.  "I hope you're writing these down."

Honestly, not often.  However, I could work on this as yet another writing project.  See, the usual advice is "write every day."  However, I'm not always in the mood to write every day.  I had trouble explaining this to my sister, who is a physical artist.  She teaches high school art, and has no trouble creating something every day.  I don't want to insult her, but it seems to me that it's impossible to just "crank out" something of quality, a piece of my soul, unless I feel the muse.

It makes me question my decision to attempt professional writing.

Writing as release, however... That I can do.

So now I have a lot of different projects, each one with a different "mood".  I finished my first sci-fi novel last October, edited until February, and sent it off to DAW.  They rejected it, which leaves me with "Plan B": Send out query letters to agents in the hopes of getting signed.  So project #1 is that.  Some of the best advice that I've found about query letters is that a typical letter is the writer's resume, so include any awards that you've won, or any other works that have previously been published.  If this is your first novel, say so, but also add that you are working on another.  And make it so.  Therefore, project #2 is my second novel.  I intended to work on magazine articles and newspaper articles.  If either of these were published, then I would not only have something to add to my resume; I would have the money earned from these published works.  However, my first magazine article was a flop; I did three weeks of research only to find out that Slate had already published a thorough article on this same topic.  Their article was a five-part series, very well written.  I gave up and lost 3 weeks with the valuable lesson that my first research should be to see if such an article already exists.  Project #3, magazine or newspaper articles, got left by the wayside.  Project #4 is somewhat "top secret" at the moment... but I am excited about it.  And when I'm excited,  I write.  Project #5 is to gather all those sayings that my kids had, that I had posted to social media, and to put them together into some sort of digital scrapbook.  Not a story, per se.  Just a string of one-liners.  #5 might also be the kind of thing that I spend 3 weeks on and then let it fall, but #1, #2, and #4... those projects have my passion right now.  They will either be published within five years, or I'll eat my hat.

Well, not really.  That's hyperbole, dear.  But that's my only goal for now.  Even if it's "self-publication".  Even if I have to pay someone to publish my work.  It will be done.  Because I won't just let these novels languish in my computer drive.  They will see the light of day.  And that is not exaggeration.

See, I had "weekly writing goals" on my other blog, but I only counted words on the new novel.  It was frustrating to see that it was taking me so long to meet my self-imposed goals.  Well, no more!  I'm done counting.   My new goal is simply to write every day.  Even if it's just a silly blog post where I write about writing.

And just for the record, I'm no longer writing with the goal of becoming a career novelist.  I will stop comparing myself to Rowling (who was also a single mother who wrote in her spare time, and took ten years to finish her magnum opus) or King (who was quoted as saying that he writes 2000 words a day).  I may become internationally famous someday, but it will likely be a happy accident, and not by design and hard work.

Because I am writing for passion.

I am writing because I must.

This is my release.  This is how I find my truth.