Last week I heard “Saturday in the Park” by Chicago on my favorite radio station, 70s on 7 Sirius. It brought back so many memories of sunny Saturday afternoons with my grandfather in Central Park, and just like that, I had a new story. When I went back and reviewed the other five, I kept wondering how I could have left out a story about Central Park. What was I thinking? I had the same revelation a month ago when I realized I hadn’t written about Grampa’s love of cooking. How could I possibly write about him and not include such important details?
I now have six stories—a robust collection! I’m so excited!
What’s more, I was able to write the entire story in less than three days because the memories were so vivid. Honestly, once I get an idea in my head it doesn’t take long to get it on paper. However, editing the piece could take weeks. I find that editing is the longest and most grueling part of writing. I thought I was completely done with my stories, when I came across tutorials for comma placement and dialogue tags. It got me started on another round of editing that lasted the entire weekend—and I’m still not sure I did it right. Oh well, I can’t fret about it forever. For now, it is what it is.
I’m moving on now so I can work on my website. It’s all set up, but not very eye-catching. I need to experiment with fonts and colors, but I’m nervous about messing up the format. Working with computers takes confidence, something I’m still working on. In addition, I have to figure out how to copyright my work. Dr. Zamora went through it in class, and I understood it when she was explaining it, but I forgot everything as soon as I walked out of the room. Getting old sucks!
But I’m in a good place and giving myself one more week to complete this project. It is so doable, and I can see the finish line.