Rest Stop

In the last year I was inspired to write a novel based on a friend's story.  Their own unique story is one that pierces my heart every time I think about it.  It's got a pretty typically base once I thought about it...boy meets girl while they are not ready for relationships...they fall in love...boy does stupid thing and girl vows to never talk to him again...years later they. 

I picked it up at the years later they part.  The problem is that with my friends there never was truly a "years later they" part.  In fact there is often a lot of regret on both parties that there isn't.  I made the mistake of telling my friend I was writing this story.  I normally share with this particular person about my current and future projects.  She also is one that proofs for me quite a bit.

So my characters were mapped out and the basic outlines were all done and I began writing in a fury.  The characters took the story over and I ran with it.  Then I hit this particular part of the story that hit so close to home that I couldn't push past.  I was stuck and have been stuck for months. 

I came to the realization that I have to let it go not the story because it deserves to be told, but my own hang up.  Here are two people in my life that I care about a lot and I want to tell their story or what should be their story to the world, but I want to do it in a way that honors them.  Truth be told I'm honoring them just be letting in inspire me.  This story though is not actually theirs due to the fact that I'm picking up where they should have a long time ago.  No word I write is ever going to change how they have ended up now.

Does this happen to anyone else?  Do you want to protect your inspiring people so much that it affects your story? 

Resolution Accomplished

For the first time ever I managed to keep one of my resolutions for the entire year of 2011! That's right I am among the elite as most people were unable to accomplish such a feat. I'm one of those kind of readers that get comfortable with an author. Once I become comfy I read every book of theirs I can find. When I've finished that I begin rereading until I can't do it anymore.

One night last December I sat down my copy of LuAnne Rice's Summer Light-a book I have read a number of times-and made a decision that 2011 would be the year for me to try something new. In the process I decided I would only read books by authors I had never read before or books from completely different genres.

It seemed like a simple enough task at the time, but wow did I not know what I had gotten myself into! I stood in Barnes and Noble trying to pick one and only one to begin my mission. A line from the movie Ever After sounded inside my head, "I could no sooner choose a favorite star in heaven." Finally I selected one and to tell on myself a little I only selected it because my favorite writer wrote such good reviews about the book. 

Once my little challenge was started I couldn't stop and was making every other day trips to the book store.  What did this resolution do for me?  It allowed me and my writing style to be influenced by some pretty amazing things.  I expect that in 2012 my process will only continue to grow leaps and bounds.  What it meant for this blog is that I will be pimping several of these books to you; at least one a month. 

What resolutions have set in 2012 you may ask?  Well I'm going to continue last year's resolution and maybe even spend some time querying some of my own work.  We'll see if I actually hold up my end of the bargain on that last part.

Happy New Year!

Veronica