Giving more thought to purpose of this blog. I'd like to use it to encourage other aspiring writers as I travel my journey to publication and to share what I learn along the way. Definitely will include book reviews, book lists, writing tidbits that I pick up, maybe a short story or two, and other fun things as I go. I'm open to suggestions too.

So my first question to aspiring writers is "What is your biggest challenge as far as completing a manuscript?"

My biggest challenge is plotting. I'm one of those writers who has a million and one ideas and can sit down, put fingers to keyboard, begin typing, and feel as though this time is the right time, the words pouring on to the page. I can usually get through two, maybe three chapters, but then I either lose interest or I'm not sure where to go. I resisted all notions of plotting as restrictive and constrictive but I'm now rethinking that position. So, I went to the library, took out a book on plotting. So far, so good. Learned a few things in the first chapter. This book, "Plot" by Anser Dibell goes much farther than simply telling me to outline the scenes and "show, don't tell". I'm looking forward to completing it and seeing whether I can actually put the lessons learned to work. I'll tell you more after I'm done!

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Not sure what I'm going to use this blog for but I like the idea of capturing my thoughts, especially at a keyboard, so blogging seems to be the way to go. (Keeping in mind the perils of Big Brother watching...)

The theme of this blog is as the title implies "Readin N Writin". I am an avid reader, one who will read almost anything -- the boring magazines at the doctor's office, food labels, manuals, assembly instructions, etc. However, my favorite things to read are fiction and biographies. I usually spend some time in a particular category of writing for a while, until I start to lose interest and then veer away for a few months or maybe even years.

I'm reading a lot of romance and women's fiction right now because I am also an aspiring writer. Like most aspiring writers, I've started more works than I can count. Now if I can just finish one! But I'm learning along the way. I took a romance writing course over at Barnes & Noble U (highly recommend for cheap classes if you can stand the group thing). I've joined several online writing groups, although I've had to scale WAY back and put myself primarily on digest format for receipt of the emails (too much traffic in inbox and WAY too much time spent reading and responding rather than writing). I've done an online writers' conference, participated in online chats with authors/agents/publishers, and taken some writing books out of the library. I've written and published some book reviews online and even submitted to a few small online contests in which I have placed, including getting published in one compliation book (to be released later in 2006). Getting lots of knowledge, which is increasing my confidence in my ability to actually write a book, but eventually it gets down to the real nitty-gritty, as they say -- putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard, voice to recorder -- you get the drift) and actually writing.

My goal is to complete and submit a romance this year. It will be a multicultural inspirational/Christian romance. (How's that for being specific?) Along the way, I think I'll polish the synopsis and first three chapters so that I can submit to a few contests (although I think I'm behind the 8-ball on this since many seem to have 1Q deadlines.) I'd also like to actually attend a writer's conference, which so far I've been unable to do since I committed myself to this endeavor in 1999, either because I've been pregnant or just had a baby or I was relocating or I lacked funds. Time will tell what challenges this next year will bring.

Enough for now.

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia (do people sign their blog posts? I'm so new to this.)

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.