Journaling

When I started a blog in April, 2014, my goal was to write 200 to 300 words a week about my first novel. I needed it to help me work out problems with content and technique. I composed a safety net of 6 posts and a big list of possible topics to get myself going. Still, I fretted about being able to keep it up for any length of time. Three years and an estimated 41,000 words later, I’m still going.

Before the blog—I had a journal that I worked on in intermittent spurts starting in May, 2008 and ending in late 2013.

I went back to read my first journal entries and became reacquainted with the anger that spurred me to finally write down my thoughts after a lifetime of procrastination. I was one of those folks who would think, “I’ll start writing seriously—someday.”

My very first entry was an eye-opening blast. The anger and frustration I wrote about came from several sources. The one closest to me was a very good friend. I had begun helping her out with her shopping and laundry a couple of times a week. My reward for a long and often trying outing was having a late lunch with her.

A few days ago, I had a chance to reprise one of those long afternoons. This time we started out with lunch at her favorite spot, a Chinese restaurant. We hadn’t been there for a year or more and were surprised when the waitress recognized my friend and recited her meal-of-choice, spicy chicken curry. My friend was overjoyed. Her morale needed that little boost. It helped create a pleasant afternoon of shopping and visiting.

I’m not ready to go back to journaling. I’m sticking to this blog for a while longer. But rest assured—I’ll be going back and reading my old journal entries again. There may be some good material for short stories—or who knows what else.