Thursday, January 22, 2009

Changes in the New Year

I am excited about living in the year 2009, especially with our New President, Barack Obama. I heard on CNN this week that the White House website has been revamped and is now an open and interactive venue for all interested in politics and reading about our leader’s plans and policies. They even have a blog, and yesterday’s entry is a video and print copy of the President’s inaugural address. If our president runs our country anything like he ran his campaign, all I can say, “Look out America! Change is in the here and now!” Stop by and check it out for yourself! http://www.whitehouse.gov/.

On the writing end, I have just finished a short story that I plan to submit to a few magazines soon. I have started another short story, perhaps a novel, which is loosely based on a current personal experience. I have found that I write best when drawing from the deep emotions of my life events.

Last year I wrote a short story based upon two childhood experiences: when I was in eigth grade, the most popular boy in school asked me to be his girlfriend, and when I was a kid, I could never catch a baseball. Once the story was published in an anthology, I was asked to read before the group. A few people afterward asked me if my character was actually me. All I can ever say is that there is a little bit of me in all of my characters.

Saturday while Don is at the Fiddle Contest in Cloverdale, I will be at a writer’s workshop in Petaluma entitled Where Does a Fictional Story Start? After an hour introduction, participants choose between Point of View or Character Development. I have already made up my mind to attend the session on character development, since point of view is basic to me. I know I need to learn to flesh out my characters more, give them more depth, and realism.

On a final note, life has been delivering some interesting gifts these last few weeks. I have been running into old friends I have not seen in years. Recently, someone gave me a spiritual gift without her knowing that it was exactly what I needed. No matter what life delivers, the glass is always half full, never half empty.

Until next time…happy writing!

3 comments:

Ruth Campbell said...

Hi Susan, I enjoy reading your blog, and I am grateful for the list of writers' websites, which I'll check out as I find time.
Happy writing to you.
my blog, in case you might be interested in some meanderings of my peculiarly curious mind, is:
birdlee-fedupwith.blogspot.com
Cheers,
Ruth

Susan Littlefield said...

Hi Ruth:

Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I have fun writing in my blog too.

I will check your blog out as well. Happy writing!

Ruth Campbell said...

Susan,
I've been putting together a manuscript of my years and years of poetry writing, particularly over the last ten years of my life. It is slow work, because I have become, alas, a perfectionist. I've had a very rough teacher, but the improvement in my work is amazing.
Anyway, I can't finish it in time for a contest deadline of March 1st. So it's a slow (although fun) struggle.
I am kind of spread out right now, starting new projects. It's exciting, but nerve-wracking. I'm
not getting much sleep.
Good day to you,
Ruth

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