Where have I been?

I wish I knew the answer, really I do. I've been right here, that I do know. Lost in the wilderness, but right here. A very dear aunt passed away in 2012/2013. It didn't help, but I was quite losing my way before that. 2014 was really time to find myself again. Get my bearings of where I'm at and where it is that I needed to go. I never expected my Dad's passing, but then none of us ever really do. Another loss this year seemed too much. So where am I now? That's the question. I'm still here, in a new place, ready once again to face the world and myself with my dreams and goals for my life.

2013!

It's going to be a good year. I'm in a small, but committed new critique group. Gold Man submissions are open again. Go to www.GoldManPublishing.com to submit something. I should be writing. Didn't write enough yesterday, so I need to write more today. Deadline and production is good. I'm presenting next month at the Salem Chapter of Willamette Writers. "Romance Your Way Into Writing" Visit www.willamettewriters.com/salem for more info.

Dreamer

I think story ideas can come from anywhere. I say this because, for me, the ideas really do come from anywhere. The other night I had a couple of dreams that sounded like good premises for stories. Sometimes, I go so far as to realize in my dream that, oh this is a good story idea. If I wake up remembering the idea, I make sure to make notes first thing, so it doesn't return to the void of another dream I had about something. If I absolutely cannot make notes the minute I wake up, I think about it a lot until I can write down what the dream was about. Mental notes if you will. My notes really cover two points: 1) What happened in the dream, what it was about, who were the "characters" and 2) Where I'd like the story that I'm going to fashion after the dream to go or how do I tie that weird dream element into the story.

Time to Get Serious About Blogging?

I don't know if I'm serious about blogging. I've tried that before. But I am serious about helping other writers. So, this is a place for people who write (if eventually I get more than one follower) to come and be inspired.

Busy, in a good way.

Just found out I'm a finalist in another contest. (For the first 7pp of my latest novel.) I've entered a couple more contests, so I'm excited to hear back from all of them. Gold Man Review is taking off. It's been a lot of work so far, but now we're reviewing the layout. Great fun and I'm learning a lot.