This month I worked on an introductory chapter that I had drafted a couple of years ago. It reminded me of how much I want to write this story and how committed I am to being a faithful portrayer of the setting and the characters. This reread reenergized my work. Then, because as I mentioned last month, I had to move my timeline back a bit, I looked up some historical data to make sure that I am correct about the details I am inserting into the manuscript. I was able to conceptualize a scene that would fit well, set the mood, and provide a good base for the novel. I added in some characters that I had developed before but who had only appeared occasionally in other chapters. So, despite a month full of activities and spring garden planting responsibilities, I made some progress on this book and feel good about what I am writing.
My Writing Goals for 2024
Continue to develop my poetry and connections with other poets:
During May, I hosted a BWA Poetry Circle that featured Kathryn Winograd who discussed her methods, explained her experiences with publishing poetry, and read from her newest book, This Visible Speaking: Catching Light Through The Camera’s Eye.
I also submitted my recently published book, Moonglow, to a poetry competition. I attended a Colorado Poets Center reading which featured Nicky Beer, who has won multiple awards and fellowships for her poetry, at a local bookstore. Three poets, Larry LaVerdure, Dave Jilk, Mary Bridges, and I read at the Poetry Rodeo at the Mercury Café in June.
Finish my first novel and query agents:
I interviewed a young man who is a specialist in the field I am writing about. In one short hour, I learned a considerable amount, part of which required a revision of my timeline.
Continue to work on my second novel:
I took a workshop this month that will help me better depict the characters in this novel.
Continue to work on my third novel:
I reread what I have written and was pleasantly surprised.
Continue to develop a network of kindred spirits in the world of writing and publishing:
Boulder Writers Alliance: I attended our BWA Happy Hour at the Hotel Boulderado. I also attended Gary Alan McBride’s Writers Who Read discussion of Mr. Texas by Lawrence Wright which is an entertaining and educative read.
Denver Woman’s Press Club: I read the newsletter.
Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers: I read the newsletter.
Women Writing the West: I prepared my pages for the June meeting.
Document my writing progress through my blog and post it on the seventh day of each month, writing one blog per month in 2024:
Today is June 7, 2024. I am posting my sixth blog of 2024. The summer solstice marks the longest day of the year and I intend to enjoy every new minute of daylight leading up to it! I am gratified that my flower garden is colorful and my tiny vegetable garden is productive. There is something about working in the garden that makes my brain more creative when I sit down later to write.
Writers who were born in June that I particularly enjoy:
Jean Anouilh, Pearl S. Buck, Octavia Butler, Thomas Mann, Salman Rushdie, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Poets that I love who were born in May:
Gwendolyn Brooks, Alan Ginsberg, Nikki Giovanni, and William Butler Yeats
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