Hello 2019

Welcome 2019... a year of greatness... 365 opportunities to do something big, to do something small... to be happy. I have to say, I rang in my new year firing on all cylinders, with fire and excitement burning through my veins. Started a book... and I'm feeling gooooood about this. I start stories all the times (I don't usually call them a book until I get to a certain point and have a complete vision), but so often they just flop. Which is fine. Not everything is meant to make its way into the world, and the little lives and settings and stories I think up in my head keep me entertained, and well, there's something to be said for that.

Yes, I always have a story in my head. Sometimes I imagine the same scene with the same characters, and even the same dialogue, a hundred times. Sometimes a dozen ideas fill my brain all at once. But believe me when I tell you there's always a story up there. I truly have voices in my head, haha.

I recently had a conversation with a budding writer... a sweet as ever young girl who shares a passion for writing stories that consume her brain, too. She struggles with her confidence and frequently gives up on her ideas. Which is sad. But like I said, not everything is made to be published. My advice to her was simple (and you can take it, too, if you've ever thought of writing something). Observation. As a writer, one of our biggest advantages is to observe and research. If I only wrote what I knew personally, none of my characters would differ from each other and have their own personalities, vocabularies, likes and dislikes, none of the plots would be all that exciting, as nothing overly "WOW" has really ever happened to me. Reading different kinds of genres all across the board is a great way to start. Although I write all my work with a specific audience in mind, I still strive to bring diversity into my stories. Homogeny is so boring. So I read. And I watch TV... again, with all kinds of genres and themes: Criminal Minds and SWAT for both pro/antagonist perspectives as well as cunning plot lines and twists. I watch family parodies and talent shows, and even sappy love stories. I don't, however, watch horror. They scare the pants off of me. I read historical fiction, middle eastern fiction and nonfiction, I read religious work, fantasy, biographies, self-help, young adult, mystery, and thrillers and yes, sappy love stories. And I love British literature. There's just something about that dry, ironic humor that I just die over. Again though, no horror. Steven King would keep me up for days. I'm also not a Fifty Shades girl... let's not even get me started on critique. And for the record, I did start the first book and had so many issues with it that I couldn't finish. I digress.

I told my young, budding writer to go sit in a coffee shop and simply observe and study the nuances of people. Note clothing styles and the sounds of laughter. Do people hunch over the table or sit completely erect as they converse? Are they alone or in a group? How do different genders interact with each other? Does someone have an accent? Do they show manners for complete strangers? What do they drink? Do they sit hidden in the corner or right in the middle of the shop? Bet you never thought you could get all that information from a coffee shop. That's what's so fun about always being in a state of constant observation, everything can be a detail that can be injected into a story. And it's often the tiniest details that complete a picture, bringing a scene to life and making is visceral for the reader.

What I'm working on now is so completely different than anything I've ever done before. And if I can pull it off, I am certain it will be some of my best work. I have created the entire world it is set in from scratch. I'm writing from multiple perspectives and am trying to blur my characters between good and bad in ways I've never quite done before. I'm not even sure where this story was born from inside me. But it is coming out... it is oozing out, and I can't get enough of it. And sadly my fingers just can't type as fast as my mind moves. Which can be frustrating. I really can't wait until it gets to a point when I can share the actual storyline with you all... but right now it's my little secret. Although I will tell you this... I have fully committed to this story. I will finish this. My ending is already written. And when I do complete it I will be over the moon excited to share it with all of you. Until then... follow my word count on the side of the main page.