I attended the West Texas Writers Academy earlier this month. I looked forward to it for a year and it went by so quickly. For several hours a day, I was in a room full of wild imaginations throwing ideas back and forth for every genre. Aliens, halflings, elderly adventurers, Einstein, lion people, and a changling dog wandered amongst us until we got their stories formulated. My new friends from class provided a great sounding board when I got stuck while conjuring up in my stories. I love rubbing shoulders with other authors. It left me feeling sad that it was over, but happy with the plotting of a new book and an excitement to get back to writing.
After the plotting class, I’ve come up with a new book idea that I’m so excited about that I’m going to stop what I’m working on to start it. It will be a book about three adventurous elderly people who get caught up in mystery and intrigue when two sisters’ house is burglarized. They find themselves threatened by a gang from the wrong side of the track, but who is really behind the burglaries? You must read it to know.
The Academy also provided us with 5 hours of instruction on how to not self-sabotage ourselves and our writing careers. I spend a lot of time daydreaming (where do you think those stories come from?) when I should be spending more time writing it down. Or I hear others things calling me to come do them instead of concentrating on my writing. Or I say to myself when I get some chore done, then I’ll start. Not a good idea since one chore leads to another. And yes, I have a bad habit of watching TV too much. I need to curtail that although sometimes it leads to a new idea.
The Academy provides the feelings and zeal that a revival meeting provides for the soul, just on a different level. The creativity level. So with my new storyline and lots of excitement, I begin this new journey into the world of Doris, Betty, and Clarence (my three adventurers- names may change as this goes forward) and their story.