What is one thing you can always count on? Change.

Nothing stands still in this world. It revolves and we walk along the surface doing our thing. We  go to work, take care of our homes and families, and find ways to express our creative side. As I age I find just how much I appreciate the fact that things change, it keeps life from being boring. It's not uncommon for us to try and anticipate change, for example, at work they are laying off - so we get some additional training/certification to make our resume look that much more robust. Does it always work to make you more secure in your job? No. But it could improve your chances of getting another position if you are laid off.

In writing, we practice our craft, we attend writers workshops, we study the industry, and we read. We all need input and that feeds our stories. We can find input anywhere - we just have to be open and observant. So, what does that have to do with change? By expanding our writing world and experience we will change our perception and level of skill (hopefully).

Big changes can cause stress, but usually change allows us to find new pathways to live, love and create. Let's keep telling ourselves that as we writers struggle to find the right words, the right publishing venue, and find readers. With regard to the latter, we need to make ourselves visible - available - and interesting. How do we make ourselves interesting? I wish I knew. Perhaps I should change my comfortable fashion sense? Nah. That's not going to happen. Jeans, tee shirts, and tennis shoes suit me.

Perhaps I will change genre's and go from women's fiction to children's? Maybe. But the current novel needs to be finished first. How about changing Point of View? Third person intimate is the easiest for me to write, but the novel I'm currently working on (The Bucket List) is in first person POV. I might try rewriting what I have so far. This could be a very important change to the story.

Some writers ramble, physically as well as mentally. (This blog is a good example.) We take a path, see where it leads, and if we don't like it - we take another. We "change" direction. Let's try an experiment: The next time a big change happens in your life, go with it and see where it leads. Look at it as a new adventure and discover the potential of this new change.

ENJOY THE JOURNEY!

Dog Days of Summer

The hottest, most sultry time of year are called "the dog days of summer." I really didn't know why and as a child I just figured it was so hot even your dog didn't want to stay outside. Here's what Wikipedia says: "The Romans sacrificed a brown dog at the beginning of the Dog Days to appease the rage of Sirius (the dog star), believing that the star was the cause of the hot, sultry weather."

Poor dogs! That's just totally unfair.

I admit I'm staying inside most of the day. Except for yesterday when I was running errands and going in and out all day long. Lucy (my dog) and I only walk early in the morning (6:30 a.m. is pretty good). And if it's later in the morning then we scurry to the shaded areas of the side streets, where it's not so bad.

Do you remember the song "Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer" by Nat King Cole (1963)? That song still pops into my head around June and doesn't leave until September. I think the lyrics went something like "those days of sodas and pretzels and beer." And the photo on the album was kids playing on the beach. Not too many beaches in Kansas, that's for sure, we do enjoy grilling outside and picnics (when it's not too hot).

This doesn't have much to do with writing, except that these kinds of little memories, song lyrics and catch phrases are pretty good scene starters. They invoke feelings, which a good author wants to do, or we won't be successful. I hope you all have a happy, safe summer and enjoy some travel and reading as well.

Nat said he wished "that summer would always be here", and in some ways I do, too. (Don't forget to use sunscreen!)