A turning point

Just an introspective post today. This morning, before my feet left the bed, a very clear story popped into my head for the Exquisite Quills Halloween anthology. It’ll be a short story, just 2000 words when it’s done. The happy thing is, it came to me fully formed as all the other stories I’ve written have. It appears my muse has finally returned.  It’s about time, lady.  🙂

Where had she gone? My dear old dog’s health took a marked slide in April and was on a steady decline through to August when we eventually lost her. I haven’t written about her yet, but I will one day.  I’m only now starting to call to mind the sweet and funny moments of our life with her without bursting into tears.  Watching the life of someone you love fade day by day takes a toll even if we all intrinsically understand death is part of life. I experienced such helplessness in the slow decline of my sisters who valiantly fought breast cancer and ALS and lost. I’ve witnessed battles no less sad and finite with friends and colleagues. We don’t ever get over it, but our hearts eventually become accustomed to the absence. Not a day goes by where I don’t miss them all.

To people who love pets as things, my thoughts here may not make sense. They may miss their dog or cat after they’re gone, but the void is easily filled with another from the pet store. That has never been my life with animals. Others like me who connect with these creatures beyond possession would understand the loss of which I speak. I essentially lost a 14 1/2 year old child, a member of my immediate family. My child.

So lately, I’ve been too down to be creative. With this latest grief I found it very hard to write. Oh sure I have words. I’m a wordy writer no matter what I’m typing out. It was just that the thoughts behind the words weren’t connecting. If you can’t connect thoughts you can’t write books. All the writing projects I was working on when my dog’s health turned just fizzled out. My train of thought had derailed.

I’ve written short stories for anthologies and even contributed to a cookbook in an attempt to get back on the track. Understanding that I work best when I have a deadline, I went so far as to plan a very large multi-author project for next spring to force my mind to find that muse again.  Nothing was working. I didn’t want to walk away from writing but it was looking more and more like I had no say in the matter. I was seriously assessing the possibility that my time as an author was over — No more romances. No more children’s books. No magnum opus (a very large work in progress that I’ve been working on for years).

So it appears I’ve reached a turning point. I’m going to grind out that 2000-word story today and hopefully the muse will stick around long enough to let me do another. Or at the least let me finish a few nearly completed novels. If nothing else I’ll experience muscle memory of fingers flying over my keyboard again.

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This next bit has nothing whatsoever to do with my writing but it’s a turning point worth mentioning. Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Britain in WWII. The war turned in British favor on September 15th 1940 when RAF (Royal Air Force) Spitfires engaged German aircraft in two dogfights. Fifty-six German planes went down in an air battle that lasted less than one hour. From this moment in history, Americans realized that their isolationism wasn’t going to hold. A world war was inevitable. This 2-part documentary is long but worthwhile from a historical perspective.
http://youtu.be/W1B3JGEjzFo
http://youtu.be/vZifDDF8AzE

Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
~George Santayana

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For 100 days, I’ll post something from my chosen topic: Clichés.
There are 42 entries to come.

Here’s a cliché for today:
To bounce back

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Today is Author Fran Lee’s blog day.
http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

Romance Books ‘4’ Us ~ The September contest is on, this time two winners!
http://www.romancebooks4us.com

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And speaking of prizes…

I’m participating in Fall Into Romance — a month-long event hosted by The Romance Reviews. Hundreds of authors and industry people are participating and that means hundreds of prizes. Find my bit on my satellite blog: http://calliopeswritingtablet.blogspot.com/

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<– This is not a lag. It’s a statement. The internet was created to be a free system with access to knowledge and level opportunity for all. Right now several large telecommunications corporations want to make you pay them for the privilege you’ve had for free since the internet began. Learn how you can help stop the pending internet takeover by these heavy-hitting, well-funded Washington lobbyists. The FCC is taking comments now and wants to know what YOU think.
Learn what’s at stake and how you can give your opinion to the FCC.
http://www.savetheinternet.com/net-neutrality-what-you-need-know-now

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Love Waits in Unexpected Places – Scorching Samplings of Unusual Love Stories

Find my novels wherever books are sold.
Sample my love stories for free!

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