I am happy to report that I have not fallen off the New Year resolution wagon – just yet.
I’ve started a new online class, under the direction of Michelle Richmond. There are lots of very talented writers in the class, but instead of wallowing in envy, I’m keeping my head down and working hard. In addition to the class, I’m using the same exercises for the novel I just completed for NaNoWriMo. Win! Win! Win!
This new novel is about a woman in 1898 Colorado Springs, and the tentative title is “An Education for Addie.” While not a true historical novel (I’m concentrating on Addie, who must struggle through many challenges), there will be some research involved. I can’t just plop a character back in time 121 years without paying some attention to detail! Unfortunately, El Paso County doesn’t have a historical society (!) and I’m hitting wall after wall on the internet. *sigh* Whoever said writing a novel was easy probably sold a bridge to a sucker in Brooklyn.
I have to blame my current writing interest in my surroundings. And the last novel too. There is something alluring about the crisp air, the clear blue skies, and the wind whipping through the arroyo that gets my head thinking.
In addition to the writing class, I’ve kept up with the Hobonichi and am (slowly) making the edits on the last manuscript. I have committed to reading, too, and finished my second reading of Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson. I read it the first time in 7th Grade, when I decided to pick the biggest, hardest book to read in the school library. It was difficult to become accustomed to late 19th Century prose, but after the first thirty pages I was hooked. Not unlike the first time I read the book. I’m also still walking, about 4-5 miles a day when the temperatures are over 40 degrees, which is nearly always.
All of this success through my bout with sickness, my husband’s bout with the crud (like mine only infinitely worse), and the holidays. YAY ME!
It’s also Dry January, so I cannot drown my sorrow in a gin martini when things get tough. No, I must suffer through, just as my character, Addie must. Her life was a thousand times harder than mine.
Next week, I plan on discussing character development. No, really.
