Moving Forward while Looking Back

I'm one of those people who can't normally walk and chew gum at the same time. Easy remedy, I don't chew gum. Seriously. But I'm also one of those people who tend to look backward while trying to move ahead. More than once, I've walked into a wall. Literally.

I had my birthday this week, 43 years of walking into walls and being unable to chew gum.
But I can write. Lots of times, I am guilty of looking back at old manuscripts and thinking "But I liked it then, why should I change it?" Growth, for one. Every year of our lives we grow. Not just physically--vertically or horizontally--but in more subtle ways. Maturing, becoming more discerning and we find that as we age, we may outgrow things we once took for granted. Friendships change, careers change even our outlook on life changes.

The one thing I have noticed about my past is that I have very few photos of myself, which was made very clear when my agent asked for one. I really had to search. I'm the one who takes pictures, not the one mugging for the camera. In my quest for publication and "getting my book out there" this will have to change and I'll have to do some mugging.

Another thing I have to change: I need to build a website.
That will come in the fall once I have "more time" so stay tuned!

Becoming Real

As a break from kids, editing and such, I went out tonight in search of two of my least favorite things: a new bathingsuit and shoes. That's right. I hate shoes. Shocking, me being a woman and all. I'm not sure what the hang up is. I keep the shoes that I like right up until they fall off my feet. Literally. The flipflops I'm currently wearing have been chewed by my cat, squished from many miles of walking and have lost what little bling they had. Frankly, they're disgusting. But I love them.

Novels, for better or worse, I have a tendency to keep around as long as my shoes. I try them on, like them and play with them until they either fall apart or . . . or they go off to an agent to be published. Today, I'm playing. Creating character lists and picking up on little things--quirks or omissions--that I hadn't noticed before. I'm also working on a more coherent synopsis and, last but not least, the novel itself.

The Bookstore Lady began as a silly dream about a cat four years ago. Slowly, writing meeting by writing meeting, I have created a novel that I have reincarnated so many times I've lost track. I still love it, for better or worse, and believe in both the story and the characters I created. I have enjoyed working with my characters so much that they already appear in three more novels. Possibly a fourth. Stay tuned for more on that!

Tomorrow, I'll be back at the grind. Editing, working on the things I need to send my agent and trying to find the elusive bathingsuit that doesn't make me look like a wanna-be teenager or a woman twice my age.

Have a great summer!