"With a Little Help..."

FINALLY - I've finished the 4th draft of my novel. The working title: "With a Little Help..." Kate, my leading lady, is a Beatles fan. Of course she is. She's a teenager in the 1960s.

Poor Kate. After Thanksgiving, in her junior year, her mom and stepdad have decided to move. Junior year? And she has to change schools? 

The story begins in December 1967 and ends on the first day of Kate's senior year, September 1968.

It's my mission now to find a few folks who are interested to read all or part of the book. If I receive comments after their read, I'll know what to work on in draft #5.

One afternoon, a few weeks ago, I realized my novel is not just fiction. Its genre is "historical fiction."

 

LEARNING TO WRITE

Losing confidence, stuck on how to proceed with my novel, I returned to one of the first writing books I ever bought. After reading a few chapters of "IF YOU WANT TO WRITE, I was back on the writing wagon again.

 

FOR THOSE WHO NEED A NUDGE - 

For anyone who yearns to write, but doesn't know how to begin, I recommend this book.Originally published in 1935, it still speaks to people out there who want to write, are writing now, or have written in the past and want to get back to telling a story. You have to start somewhere. Ms. Ueland's oldie but a goodie book may help.

You may not be able to read the subtitle -"A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit."

A few months ago, struggling with my novel, I felt down, blue, hopeless, and all that jazz about my writing and my story. When I'm stuck on how to move on to the next scene, and negativity begins to overtake me, I usually open my Kindle and find a writing book that's helped me in the past. This time I looked on my shelf of writing books and Ueland's book caught my eye. I hadn't looked at it for at least a decade. Her words were magic medicine doses that urged me to carry on.

If you are afraid to begin writing, haven't written lately, or think it's time to put your life's story together for a friend, your children, your grandchildren, or to publish for the masses, Brenda Ueland's book is still available. It may get you going.

 

"HOW TO WRITE" BOOKS

There are tons of writing tomes out there. If I'm not working on my 1968 novel (working title, "With a Little Help..."), I may blog about a good one I recently discovered; it's about how to understand points of view in fiction. 

If you would like recommendations about writing books (or just wish to say hello) send me a message through the blog. 

 

Learning never ends. And that's good. 

 

Happy Reading and Writing!