Melora Johnson's Muse

Wow! There were 172 shares of my last poem when I grabbed this screen capture on Monday. I’m always amazed, and grateful, when I post a poem and people let me know that they are enjoying it. A lot of the time I’m just trying to get feelings out about a situation or event, or trying to capture a moment in time. It’s wonderful to know that some of what I’m saying is resonating with others. Thank you!

I hosted a write-in at my library over the weekend. Getting a room full of people together to work on their own projects may seem a little odd to someone who has never experienced it but it generates a kind of creative energy in the room that propels you forward.

I provide a spread of food and prizes for various little contests. We do writing sprints, where people write as many words as they can for ten minutes and then the person who writes the most gets a prize. (Sometimes I give a prize to the person who writes the least too.) This time we also did prizes for the first person in the room, someone writing a memoir, and someone who did research before the write-in.

If you’d like to experience a write-in, National Novel Writing Month is coming in November and there will be write-ins all over the country. You can find more info at NaNoWriMo dot org.

Personally, I did more research than writing this time but I guess that’s the way it goes when you’re trying to write a story that captures the feel of a historic event like the reconnaissance of Iwo Jima in 1945. I keep finding new facts that spark new questions. Eventually, the story will find solid footing and then it will really take off.

After a little bit of celebrating, a whole lot of research, and a little bit of psyching myself out, I opened two new word processing documents on Friday and started actually writing on my next two projects.

One is a short story with a twist on the legends about Skinwalkers from Native American myth. It’s set during the last few days before the U.S. landing at Iwo Jima. The marines really want to get someone onto Iwo Jima to do recon, but they can’t send just anyone.

The other one I started is the second book in my paranormal line – Firebound. I’ve scribbled bits and pieces in my notebook, worked on characters, and outlined, but it felt really good to open up the document and just start writing. Right now, my main character wants to become a nun. We’ll see how that works out.

My only goal at this point is to open both documents every day and add to them. There’s some outline in my head and I’ll do more of that as time permits. I’m a little bit plotter and a little bit pantser, I guess.