This past month I have continued working on revisions of the novel that takes place in the county where I live. One advantage of the month of July is that it is easier to drive up into the mountains and explore the area about which I am writing. It is fun to take photos of late 19th-century and early 20th-century homes, churches, and stores, and think about which ones match up best with my characters’ lives and activities. World-building for a time before my own lifetime is tricky because I must be accurate about the townspeople’s homes, modes of transportation, clothes, activities, jobs, and necessities. Because a sense of place is also important to me, I integrate accurate descriptions of plants and the seasons they bloom to add color and accuracy to the story. Thankfully, I have a friend who has spent years creating a log and website of, particularly, the flowering plants and their growing seasons in the elevations I am writing about. During July, I plan to spend more time in our local history library as well as take several drives up into the mountains for a photo shoot. My characters are starting to seem like old friends to me because I have been working on this project for several years. As I rewrite and revise, I notice things that I skipped over before so I am trying to fill in the gaps, smooth out the rough spots, and make sure that what I am writing is visualizable and of interest to the reader.
My Writing Goals for 2024
Continue to develop my poetry and connections with other poets:
BWA Poetry Circle takes the summer season off. I do plan to attend several local poetry readings during the summer.
During June I attended several of the excellent faculty and student readings that are open to the public at the Naropa Summer Writing Program.
Finish my first novel and query agents:
I worked on scenery and flowers for the novel. I met with our critique group.
Continue to work on my second novel:
I attended several sessions on Zoom related to the main theme of this novel.
Continue to work on my third novel:
I reviewed old photos for reference for this story and took notes.
Continue to develop a network of kindred spirits in the world of writing and publishing:
Boulder Writers Alliance: I attended our BWA Happy Hour and enjoyed the discussions with other writers. I also attended our Writers Who Read Summer Chat Fest and began reading the books for our group discussions this fall.
Denver Woman’s Press Club: I read the newsletter and plan to attend an event this month.
Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers: I read the newsletter and renewed my membership.
Women Writing the West: I prepared my pages for the June meeting and we worked on two members’ pages.
Document my writing progress through my blog and post it on the seventh day of each month, one blog per month in 2024:
Today is July 7, 2024. I am posting my seventh blog of 2024. Summer is wonderful. Life is easy. The sky is blue. I’m outdoors more often and it makes me cheerfully creative.
Writers who were born in July that I particularly enjoy:
Emily Bronte, Zelda Fitzgerald, Natalia Ginzberg, Lauren Groff, Ernest Hemingway, Herman Hesse, Bharati Mukherjee, Iris Murdoch, Marcel Proust, J. K. Rowling, George Sand, and George Bernard Shaw
Poets that I love who were born in July:
Tristan Corbière and Jean de la Fontaine whom I studied in graduate school. Pablo Neruda and Wislawa Szymborska are both evocative wordsmiths that I love to reread. And, Yevgeny Yevtushenko whose live performance I attended years ago was electrifying and makes my heart skip a beat when I think about it.
laurellecommunications.blog 