Been Thinking - Can You Smell the Smoke?

 I’ve been writing a blog since 2010 when someone talked me into it. My first thought was, “Don’t I have enough to do already?” My second thought was, “Okay, maybe this will be fun.” And it has been.

The tricky part is coming up with new topics or a different spin on a topic that’s already been covered. Of course, it’s always fun to have Guest Bloggers.

My point is, I’m running out of ideas. I’ve been doing this on a weekly basis, with the exception of a recent “personal vacation” when I didn’t post for a few months.

I’d like to write every post about writing or promoting, but I have to admit that I’m not an expert. All I can do is offer an opinion and cheerlead for the rest of you. I try to make most of the blogs entertaining, but that’s not always possible either.

As I reread what I’ve already written, it sounds like I’m saying Good-bye. I’m not. I’m just sharing how it goes.

Right now I’m working on a time travel mystery, as I’ve mentioned before. I’m torn between two titles. The first is “Elsbeth’s Road” which would make sense when the book is done and you read it. The second is “Choosing One Moment”, which would also make sense when the book is read.

It’s not just the story that we sometimes struggle with, but also the title, the editing, the marketing and the promotion. If you’ve ever had anyone refer to your heartfelt writing as a “hobby”, or they’ve said it’s so easy that anyone could do it, just bite your tongue. They have no clue what’s really involved in the whole process. You do. Sometimes we think, “What was I thinking? I had no idea what I was getting into. This is hard.”

I must look like a grandmother or something because when I meet new people and they find out I’m a writer, many of them ask if I write children’s books. No, I don’t, although I do try to add humor here and there.

We’ve lost some talented writers over the past couple of years – some well-known and some not so well-known, but still talented. It’s sad when we have to say good-bye to an author who’s kept us entertained for so long, but life goes on and we move on to other writers. We discover new talent.

In some ways, reading almost seems to be becoming a lost art – a lost pastime for many. There was actually a time when people talked about the latest book they’d read rather than the latest movie they saw. Recently I heard someone say, “Why read a book? If it’s any good, it’ll be made into a movie anyway.” What they don’t realize is that there are so many changes that sometimes the movie barely resembles the book.

Also, a good book can take you away for a day or more, but a movie will only take you away for a couple of hours. You can read a book while dressed in your jammies or a sweat suit, or dressed up for work on your lunch hour. You can read in bed. You can watch a movie while in bed, too, but not until it’s out of the theaters. Of course, I’m sure I’m missing something here because I’m not very techie. There may be something you can do on your iPad or Kindle, or some other device.

Such is life.

So, it’s now 2016 and I’m sharing some thoughts with you. I guess I should think of this as my Thought Topic.

Anyway, until I think up something new, I hope this gave you some food for thought.

Until next time, read a good book, take a walk, or let me know some of the topics you’d like to read about. I’m fairly open to suggestions, the key word being “fairly”.

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