A Massive New Undertaking – Now Underway

Have you ever come across an opportunity that was enticing and intimidating simultaneously?  I’m staring down one such challenge as I type these words.  It came to me by accident really.  I have a magnet on my fridge from an auto body shop that says, “We meet by accident.”  Cheesy, I know, but I like it.  Anyway, I stumbled into the blog of another aspiring writer that shares a mutual friend with me.  The current post described an article she had read in a book about writing in which someone challenges the author of the book to write a short story a week for an entire year.  Their rationale was that at the end of that year they will have 52 bad stories and will have purged the bad ones from themselves and also that they’d recognize good writing.  Now I don’t agree with the first part of that conclusion, but I do like the last part about recognizing good writing.  The author of the blog has therefore challenged any other fledgling or wannabe writers out there to write a story a week for a year and to post the stories to our respective blogs.  I immediately sent her an email saying something to the effect of “I am definitely in, sorta, I think, maybe.  I want to do it, but I’m terrified!” 

 This leads me to a few other reasons why I’m certainly, finally and unequivocally “in” with this project.  The first is that it will inspire confidence in my abilities as a writer.  At this point in my career when I sit down with my laptop about to begin a new piece of writing I am always filled with anxiety.  I know that I’ve already written many good things in my day and that others recognize my writing positively, but at the same time it always feel like some sort of magic and if it’s magic, then what if the magic doesn’t come the next time.  Now I do feel that some writing is inspired by spiritual forces, but the main tools for writer were given to me upon birth, or later on as my brain developed and they are squarely between my ears.  You can say what you want, but I know that I was born to be a writer.  It is part of who I am, it is my calling in life.  I say this, but I’m always terrified of the start of a writing project.  I think this challenge will help me to make writing routine and also inspire confidence as I see that day-in and day-out the “magic” continues to show up. 

 The other reason I want to take up this project (and I’m sure others will emerge as I go on, as will perhaps the objections) is to build up a store of stories that are my own.  I think this will be an invaluable warehouse of ideas for future writing projects.  Given that I only get one week before I have to move on to the next one, they certainly won’t be completed projects.  I’ll get it down and clean up as much as possible in one week and move on.  I’m also modifying the challenge a bit from short stories to books for children.  I see the children’s book genre as almost poetic story-telling.  I want to over-write these stories and cut until they are powerful works with good thoughts for children that also don’t dumb things down to much for kids.  My own children are intelligent.  I think all children are amazing and can handle more than what for which we often give them credit.  I also have a plan to write books for my children where they are now and stories for them as they grow up.  My writing will grow with them.  By the time they’ve grown I think I’ll have enough life experience to write adult literature.  I’m not ready right now.  Perhaps it’s more that I don’t want to.  Maybe I’ll never want to and that’s okay with me for the first time in my life.  I don’t have to write the “Great American Novel”—I think it’d give me greater joy to read my books to a group of children at a library and see them smile.  It’d go farther into my heart than any accolades and would probably impact the world more.  Sorry.  I’m waxing poetically on you all now.

 So, summing my current writing endeavors up for you—I ’m going to write a book for children a week for a year.  I’m going to blog weekly.  I’m also going to be selecting something that I’ve written in previous weeks to polish and make ready for publication.  I’ve got one currently in the works.  It’s nearly finished.  I really think two more drafts with minor tweaks will see it to completion. 

 I guess this post was maybe more for me.  I had to air my commitment publicly.  It will feel infinitely more real as I hit the “publish” button  on my blog (which I love doing by the way, if only publishing proper were so easy, but then for I’m sure that “For $59.99 it can be a click away!” because anything’s possible on the internet…seriously).  As a parting shot, I hope you consider saying yes to that next project that comes your way.  Know that you’re not alone and that this is the stuff that shapes who we are and what kind of legacy and memories we’ll with those we love.  I’ll need your encouragement along the way as well.  Thank you for those of you who continue to provide that for me.  It means more than you know.

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