I am halfway through the first draft of Just Another Bored Housewife, and Red Willow is coming along. The more I research on this rich folktale, the more I realize how much work I really have to do on it. Each and every day, new details emerge, or I realize I have to explain yet another aspect of my culture. It is a challenge, one I took on with pride.
One of the most difficult aspects of being a writer is knowing where to begin. So, you have your storyline set in your head, maybe you have even designed a character or two. You have plotted out where you want to go, what you want to say and the message you want to get across. The problem now is writing it.
I am a pretty picky reader. If my author doesn't grab me within the first two pages, I don't bother. Harsh, I know, but it is what it is. While it is great to have a solid story, if you don't make it exciting, no one will read it. As if writing were not a stress filled profession enough as it is, we get to add this little bit of pressure to the whole bit.
A good beginning should send chills through the reader. It should make you think, and itch to turn the page. Keeping that energy through the whole book is difficult, but not impossible, and once you get that beginning, there is often no stopping you. It is amazing what a few little words will do for you.
So, I sit here, with my cup of coffee, my cigarette, and my sunrise. Hoping and praying that the spirit of inspiratio