Homestretch

I'm on the last chapter after a three year journey. I can hardly believe it. What else I can hardly believe is how hard it is to get this final chapter done. It's like Satan keeps slapping my hands every time I try to write, or all my weaknesses show up at once when I sit down to get 'er done...like do I smell a snack waiting for me downstairs?...or, I think I need to water the flowers right this very instant...or, my toe hurts, I should nap...or, .... I tell you it is true, the hardest part of writing is in the actual putting butt in chair and doing it. Here, I am in the homestretch and I'm still procrastinating. Go figure.

But, I will prevail. I will finish up this chapter very soon and when I do, they'll be able to hear my victory yell from here to the top of Everest. Of course, just putting the final dot and crossing the final 't' will not a book make. THEN comes some heavy editing and rewriting, but I'm ready for that...bring it on! But the feeling of finally having the whole thing on paper, so to speak, in some kind of order and now only tweaking sounds glorious!

Wish me luck. Say a little prayer for me and cheer me on. I'd love to hear about your writing processes. Let me hear from you.
blessings all...

SPOOLS & FEATHERS

This past week, my husband and I spent time at family camp with two of our granddaughters, Paisly (5) and Zella. (2). The four of us became ‘campers’ together and shared a cabin. We pushed the girls’ bunks together so they could feel secure in an environment that hosted eclectic groups of bugs and an occasional mouse. Gary and I slept in another section of our small cabin just under the large screened windows and just above the upper falls. Each night we were sung to sleep by the falls melodious roar and awakened by various birds calling us to our day’s adventures.

I must say, we were in our bliss! Granddaughters, waterfalls, granddaddy long-legs galore, aromatic giant pines and handmade swings abounded. Someone else did the cooking (it don’t get any better than that folks!), and fellowship with some kind and good folks made these four days a Class ‘A’ gift from God.

I brought along my laptop and some research notes, foolishly thinking that while the girls napped, I would be able to get some writing done. After all, only three more chapters to go! And who couldn’t write and feel creative in such a beautiful place?

Didn’t happen!

At nap times, once I got the girls settled into their bunks after a round of made up stories from MeeMee and Papa, I waddled to my own bunk with just enough strength to close my eyes. The fresh air and the constant activity-- from swimming in the creek, to critter races with frogs, ants and other multi-legged creatures, to basketball, to Bible study, to playing in the sand, to water balloon volleyball, to the craft cabin where we glued wooden spools together and anything else that begged to be glued together and decorated with brightly colored feathers, beads and other shiny things-- my brain and body simply couldn’t stay alert or awake long enough to form words on a page.

Nope. Writing didn’t get done. I still have three more chapters to go. But what did happen was … life. Glorious, precious, heart-filling, cup filling, slap-ya-on-your-back joyous life! The memories made with our granddaughters were priceless and will be carried in my heart until the Lord calls me home…and even then, I’m going to show Him pictures of this week when I get there. Writing is very important to me. This writing project, in particular, is very, very important to me. But family will trump my writing every time. It’s a decision I made a long time ago.

So…this coming week, I’ll finally get out my laptop and those notes and get at it. Maybe I’ll knock out a couple of chapters. I can’t wait to get started again. But just know that when I pause, for inspiration, I’ve got two little wooden spools now sitting on my desk, bespeckled with yellow and purple feathers, plastic beads and a miniature clothespin glued on top, that will take me back, just for a moment, to a time I’d wouldn’t have missed for the world.
Blessings, friends.

FOUR MORE TO GO!

Okay... I'm trying to contain myself, but knowing I only have four more chapters to write in this book until I'm finished has me standing up and jumping off my desk chair. Four chapters! Can you believe it? This morning I did the edits on the chapter I wrote yesterday and this afternoon, I start Chapter Thirty-Six!!!!!! Yahooooo!

Of course, if you're a writer, you're probably snickering at me. Yeah, I've only got four more chapters to write, but then I'll have about forty to edit, and then when a publisher gets their hands on it, I'll probably have to practically rewrite the whole thing, recheck my facts, and get my photos in order and then edit some more, so you're thinking, don't jump too high on that chair, baby!

Yeah, yeah. I know. But, please let me bask in the fact that I almost have a forty chapter book actually written. Words committed to a page. Chapters actually completed, and with a point. Historical facts corralled and put to good use. A good man's life chronicled on paper. Thousands and thousands of keystrokes that went somewhere. And, finally, I'm on the home stretch. The words are out of me and are on the page.

Four more to go!

Have you ever written on a long project? If so, why don't share your technique from interviewing, to plotting, to organizing notes, to research, to writing. How do you do it? A couple of years ago, I went to the writer's conference at Mount Hermon, CA. A wonderful conference that I high recommend. Anyway, while there I took a class by writer, Jim Denny. He is a collaborative non-fiction author who writes all of Pat William's books. He's also collaborated with Reggie White on his story and several others. During the course of the week, Jim taught me how to organize my project in a way that made it manageable. So, right now on my office wall are six columns of Post-It notes plastered on it. Each column represents a section of the book, and each section has from five to ten sticky notes in a column, each representing a chapter. On the notes is a brief description of what that chapter is about. As I'm writing the book, it has been great to look up at my 'writing wall' to see at a glance where I'm at. At times, I've had to rearrange them, when I've decided to switch a chapter to another section, but that was easily done...since they're only Post-It notes and not stuck on the wall with something like Gorilla Glue--- you know what I'm saying?

Anyway, that's one of my tricks? Care to share one of yours? I'd love to hear from you. Happy writing, friends... and repeat after me...FOUR MORE TO GO! FOUR MORE TO GO!