A Writer's Musings

I've been thinking about a question I read on a literary agent's blog that has me thinking. He asked if you could be told that you would/would not be a published writer, would you want to know and would you keep writing? It's an interesting thought.

I think that the thing that keeps me writing isn't so much that my book will be published but that I have so many stories I want to tell. Someone who has read some of my short stories told me that they were surprised that I switched between so many genres: mystery, women's fiction, romance. That isn't too surprising to me, since I love to read all forms of writing (fiction and non-fiction alike) I also like to write all types. And that is what is important for me--the craft of writing. Yes, I have a literary agent who is in the process of trying to sell my mystery novel. Yes, I am trying to find an agent for one of my other books, and yes I have a bunch of short stories out to magazines for consideration. I am trying to sell my writing. But I think the more important thing is that I love to write. I love to tell a story.

One of the most exciting things to me is to sit down at a blank screen and start a new book. I never know what is going to happen as I do that. I have the outline, the rough idea of who the characters are and what is going to happen to them. But I am always surprised by the turns and events that happen to those characters as I write. They are as real to me as my living friends. When I am in the midst of a book, as I am now, they tip-toe into my head and tell me what's going on as I cook dinner, do laundry, visit teach and so forth. I see things, hear things and I am compelled to put it down in my notebook so when I am back at the computer I can see if they are interested in these things I've discovered and can use them in their world.

A lot of people say that writing is a lonely life, and in many ways it is. But it is also such a full and interesting life. I go places when I write that I probably will never venture to in reality. Much like reading can take you places, writing does to. And I'm looking forward to seeing where this next book takes me next!