New Beginning – Writing – Again

Hi there! I’m back.

There’s a row of Poplar trees behind our house. In winter, the branches are bare, and I can see through the trees to the scrub beyond.

Today it’s spring, and the Poplars’ foliage is filling in – once again.

As leafy life returns to the trees outside my window, I am returning to my blogging.

Returning from where?

In December of 2007, I started three blogs: Star Stuff Writer, Star Stuff Life, and Dementia: The Path Beyond the Tears. My most recent post was to my Star Stuff Life blog on March 21, 2008. Today is Cinco de Mayo, so it’s now been 6 weeks since my last post.

What, you might ask, have I been doing?

Where my writing is concerned, I’ve been trying to figure out how to make a more effective process.

I’ve started two writing courses by Angela Booth – an Australian Writer. One of the courses I started is her “Write More” course – which is largely about process.

For the past few years, I’ve been doing a lot of reading. More than once, in that time, I read a book that enabled me to seriously improve some activity which was slow and difficult for me. It enabled me to take something that was intuitive and unsure – and make it a better, clearer, more effective process for me.

I may not follow the book’s suggestions exactly – and my process may evolve. But by any measure, I’m far ahead of where I started.

In a very similar way, lesson 1 of Angela Booth’s “Write More” class taught me an idea that she calls “writing organically” – which enabled me to seriously rethink my writing process. In my notes for the lesson, I wrote, “this concept alone could be worth the cost of the course.”

And of course, I’m looking forward to additional improvements, to my process and to my understanding, from Angela’s “Write More” class.

Where am I going?

My initial objective is to write more – which means writing more smoothly and more quickly – in other words, more effectively.

Beyond that, I need to earn a living from my writing.

All of this is easier said than done. Ask any writer. Or ask anyone who has tried to make significant changes to personal patterns.

Leo Babauta wrote a post to his Zen Habits blog titled “13 Things to Avoid When Changing Habits.” Among his 13 points, he suggested: take on one habit at a time – commit to a plan on paper – and have some form of accountability.

With Leo’s post as my guide, I intend to make a plan – and I intend to make a commitment. I intend to post my plan – and my commitment – on my Star Stuff Writer blog later this week.

And so …

I imagine that this ending doesn’t stand up strongly against a film serial cliffhanger.

But I hope to post the next episode within a day or two. But on one blog only – rather than on all three.

To be continued . . .    (My Plan – My Goal: To Write More)