It's been over two months since my last blog post. I wish I could point to one thing or another as a reason or excuse for not writing, but I'm not sure what's been holding me back. Some changes are going on with a couple of family members which I'm not going to get into here but I just have not felt moved to write about anything in particular. Maybe that's the thing with a blog about daydreams, memories and random thoughts. I don't have a single focus, just scattered ideas.
The one thing that's been percolating in the back of my mind is my book idea of Gravy Every Sunday. I've started a few chapters as blogposts and have a general outline of topics to include but as far as the actual writing of a book I've been stalling. I finally renewed my Microsoft Word subscription in an effort to get a more professional look to my writing. I missed last month's Memoir Writers Circle meeting because I just was not able to write or even talk about writing. So this is an effort to prepare for next weeks gathering.
When I first started writing The Friendship Tree back in April of 2018 I was excited to just put my thoughts out for sharing with no expectations, Then as I felt more comfortable writing about my life and my experiences ideas seemed to flow on a regular basis. People responded positively to my words and all in all I was having fun.
Somehow as I plan to write my first book, because that's how I think about this endeavor, it is becoming work. When I first started down this path a fellow writer suggested I read the book "On Writing Well" by William Zinsser. I didn't get too far in reading it, but the first chapter spoke of writing as a vocation versus an avocation. Hard work compared to easy fun. I remember telling my friend that I was having fun telling stories, while he was doing the hard work of professional writing, around the equally hard work of his day job.
I started working a part time job a little over a year ago and have even talked about it in my blog a little bit. Now I'm trying to figure out how I can schedule writing around afternoons of delivery driving and actually make progress on getting this book out of the dream stage to actual concrete pages and chapters.
In the blogs about my family I've talked about my Mom being one of nine siblings that I remember when I was growing up. Now there are only two left, Mary and Vivian, both in their nineties, and I feel an urgency to get this project finished while they can both read it. So the only time pressure at this point is from me. No deadlines or publishers pushing me forward, just my expectation for my self to do a good job of recording my family's story for my generation and those to come. My goal is to finish writing and see it published before these last two sisters are gone to join Grandmom Carmella and the rest of the brothers and sisters. I had a psychic reading after Uncle Tony passed and he said he was fine but he missed the gravy.
Wish me luck.
