Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Back to Writing

Jennifer is making progress…

I wrote about 500 words yesterday. It’s the most I’ve written in months and I’m very proud of it.

My writing life has been pushed to the side while working on a fundraising auction for my Temple. I ate, slept and breathed the fundraiser for the last six months, and actually started working on it a year and a half ago. We raised a ton of money, which was great, but I lost all ability to focus on writing in the process, especially toward the end.

There are still ends to wrap up, but I finally have the time and the mental focus to go back to writing. For the first time yesterday, I sat down with my newest manuscript, Book 3 in my Women of Valor series (currently untitled) and wrote! I even wrote while both kids were home and asking for help with homework!

Of course, the scene I’m working on is a fun one—the hero and heroine are participating in a speed dating event—and I’ve done a lot of research on it, including observing one in the restaurant I was at this past weekend (with my daughter, who helped me secretly video some of what was going on), which made the writing easier and more enjoyable. I needed that. Writing is like a muscle and when you don’t use it for a while, it’s gets tight and sore. Starting up again, with something easy, similar to a warm-up exercise, is very helpful.

So author me is back and I’m out of excuses for why I can’t get things done. And I’m really looking forward to the process.



12 comments:

  1. Congrats on your fundraiser, and also on returning to writing!
    Watching speed-dating sounds like fun!

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  2. Thanks, Paula. It really was (and also a little weird to be observing something that didn't exist when I was single).

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    1. Not sure I would have taken part in one, even if they had existed when I was younger. Definitely wouldn't take part in one now, either, although I believe they do have sessions for the 'older' generation!

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  3. You know, I might have considered it with a group of friends, but definitely not on my own.

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    1. Going with friends might be a good giggle; going on one's own smacks of desperation LOL! Anyway, how do you know that the men who go to these events are genuine? One might be an axe murderer!

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    2. You know, the woman I interviewed about this told me about her experiences and I asked about safety. She said she's never heard of a problem. There are safeguards in place so that you only exchange information if both the man and the woman mutually like each other and put it down on their form. That's not to say you can't get a bad apple in there, but I think that's the case with anything.

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    3. Must admit I'd still be very wary!

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  4. Good for you, Jen! Speed dating sounds interesting. There's that dating service Just for lunch, I think it's called.

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    1. I've never heard of that, Ana. But it was fun to see in real life, and quite a coincidence!

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  5. It's such an amazing feeling to be 'back' at writing when you've been away for a while. Kind of like coming home.

    Congrats on your 500 words! You should be proud of yourself. That's more than I've written in quite a while....

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