Curveballs in Life


 
My ramblings this Friday morning.
 
As I often tell my daughter, life throws us curveballs but what we do with it makes us who we are.
 For me, it was to get back on the path as a writer. After one rejection, it took ten years but I’m glad I did so. Mostly, it’s thanks to my daughter who put me back on track again, because I probably would have let it pass me by and missed out on an experience of a lifetime. Yes, writing and finally being published.
 Writing, strangely enough wasn’t my first love. Books were.
I was too shy to put my deepest emotions on paper back then. I’d always have this thought in my mind that they’d see me, see the person I truly am, painfully shy, awkward and always with my head down hoping no one would notice me, they'd laugh...  The fear would make my hands sweat, my chest hurt. I probably knew every crack, every flaw on the flagstones gracing the school walkway back then.
Aah, the insecurities of the young...it consumes who we are.  
So even in my school work, I’d just skim the surface of whatever essay I had to hand in, because I couldn’t let anyone too close, in case they saw the 'real' me. The miracle was I must have done something right even then.
After all, heck, I did pass English and had fallen in love with the written word.  
All this comes down to emotions. Because we are afraid to put ourselves out there and get hurt. Most build a wall—a façade to conceal our hopes and dreams. To protect ourselves from hurt of any sort.
But when it comes to writing, alas it doesn’t work. You need to lay it all out there. But as writers, fortunately, we can hide behind our characters as we do so.
Tom Bissell says it so well, “A great writer reveals the truth even when he or she does not wish to.”
Now back to darling daughter. She has one of the most creative minds I’ve ever come across. I think it has to be from all those Disney movies she lived, breathed, and ate as a child.
She’s great for bouncing off ideas especially when I get stuck on a plot point. But when it comes to her own scribbling, agh, she makes me want to tear my hair out.
She second-guesses everything she does.
And the simple reason for all this drama taking place right now? She had a plot disagreement with a friend. She’s had fair warning before this could happen, besides me speaking to her about it.
Remember, I spoke about my paranormal experiences in my last blog, well, dear daughter has a touch of it too. This friend she couldn’t bring herself to talk to? Well she dreamt she had a fight with her, over the same issue of writing, and yes, it happened the following day. There’s lots of tension and irritation vibrating off her right now, since she’s in a quandary of what to do.
Curveball dear child, remember. And you can’t collaborate and work with another aspiring writer knowing how possessive you are over your ideas. You have to face your fears, no matter what they are. It’s what will strengthen you. So, I shall leave her to ponder her decision, and move onto something else.
Few days ago, while having a little pow-wow with dear daughter over breakfast/supper conversation on Skype (she lives some 11000 miles away) over the novella I’d been writing, I mentioned to her I wasn’t satisfied with it being just a short story. In my hero from ‘A Demon for Christmas’, I saw so much more there, and boy, did he have a story to tell. By the time that conversation was over three hours later, the novella had taken a different turn and a compelling twist. I'm so eager to share it with every one, but alas, I still have to write it.  
Yeah, like I said she has a wonderfully creative mind.
So now some chapters for my novella have been deleted, and new twists and turns taking place. I’m eager to get back to my paranormal world of Empyreans, gods, and demons while I wait for my second round edits for Absolute Surrender to make its return to me, in preparation of its release early next year.

Until later, have a fabulous day.

2 comments:

  1. Aw, I don't know what exactly is going on in your daughter's life, but if she's co-working on a story with someone, I can relate... I would never do that. I'm too much self-focused and happy with my own ideas, I wouldn't want anyone to add their stuff without asking.

    And to Riley and his novel(la)...I'm sure that one will be another excellent book. Can't wait to start critiquing again. :-)

    Cheers,
    Piper

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  2. Piper, thanks for stopping by.
    Well, my daughter, she's the middle of a parting ways with that project. I must say she writes fabulous Dystopian stories, now if only she can finish...

    As for Riley's story, I've been pounding away at my key boards with the new changes. The concept is really intriguing...well I think so anyway :)

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