My mother died in 2009 from Alzheimer's. It was a long, slow death that took every thought, emotion and memory this lovely woman called her own. I wanted to write stories about our family, in case the 50% chance of Alzheimer's finds me and moves in to stay. If it comes true, our stories will live on. If it does not come true, everyone will have my version of our lives. I know for a fact, Tommy and I usually remember things differently...mine will be in black and white.
I needed for my children and grandchildren and their children to have a book of stories about their incredible, loving, funny, spiritual and creative relatives. I want the little things that make up the majority of a person's life shared. The big events most people remember but the little everyday stories, those are the ones that get lost. I want our descendants to know us. The very people whose blood flows through their veins and whose genes reside inside them are home base for my stories.
My first year of writing consisted of eight blogs. As of today, I have written a total of 384 blogs. I have had fun sharing our lives, and enjoyed people enjoying my writing. My followers are found all over the world and I love that feeling. Originally I traded postcards, for about three years, with friends in many foreign countries. A good portion of my postcard friends still share my life through my blog. Some of us talk daily. These people are part of my' tribe', as I call our friendship. We will probably never meet in this lifetime but we are friends, good friends, for sure.
Later I joined several on line writing groups. I began to follow my favorite authors on Facebook. I talked to them and they talked back to me! Unbelievable! A learning experience was occurring. Soon I discovered Pinterest and a whole new writing venue opened up for me. I enjoyed reading and following many writing blogs on Pinterest. To my delight and dismay, people started following me on Pinterest. It has become another good, unexpected experience.
In hindsight, my middle daughter, Tami gave me encouragement on writing and actually set up my first blog for me. She told me to set a goal for the number of readers I would like to reach. I did that and the goal was 500. That goal was reached in a about six weeks. I began to write more and felt comfortable sharing my life on line. Soon I set the goal for 2,000 and reached it. I was shocked---extremely shocked and once again delighted. I felt like a gun totting, slight of hand gambler, as I raised the stakes with my keyboard, on my favorite hobby. I jotted down 10,000. I thought if I reached that goal, I would be out of stories and quit writing. I was so wrong with that mindset. The more I wrote, the more I remembered, the more I wanted to write. My every day life began to resemble an "I Love Lucy" episode. Retiring and still married happily to my husband, Tommy Carter, yields more stories than I will ever be able to describe. Strange things often happen to us. We call it normal, most people would disagree.
I've had a few bumps in the road. Every time I wrote a truthful but hard core blog on Obama, I received a virus. I made a few people fighting mad. So be it, thank God for freedom of speech... and for people who can fix my computer when I exercise that freedom of speech.
I began writing short stories about three years ago. Flash Fiction is one of my new favorite writing exercises. I think most people prefer novels to short stories but I have to admit these stories have a place in my heart. They will be included in a book some day. I also have a novel started. It is more background, checking facts and weeding out what works and what doesn't. I do believe it is a book that wants to be written and it also would enjoy being read some day. I know this for a fact, because my muse is working in overdrive for the moment. It is a big challenge for me...not sure how it will play out. The adventure should be a huge learning experience for me.
The other day I checked my stats and I had over 30,000 readers. I felt like I had won the jackpot of all jackpots. For most writers this is a smidge of followers...for me it is a landslide I never imagined.
I want to thank every person who has taken the time to read my blog, share my life and adventures. You all are the best and make writing special for me. I enjoy your feed back and comments. As I close, I raise my cup of coffee to each and everyone of you. Thank you for making my retirement more fun than I ever imagined. Thank you for being a part of my life. ...you all matter to me.
No comments:
Post a Comment