Things That They Stood For

"Has anybody here seen my old friend Abraham/ Can you tell me where he's gone/ He freed a lot of people/ But it seems the good they die young/ You know I just looked around and he's gone." - "Abraham, Martin, and John" by Dion

Ah, Presidents' Day. A day that some lucky people (like me) get off of work, but does anyone really think about the reason for this holiday anymore? Not to get overly political or anything, but there was a time where the President of the United States was highly respected by most, if not all of the public, someone to admire. They stood for something. If people were a little more open minded and willing to see the big picture instead of just focusing on the negatives, maybe the same thing would be true today.

Okay, enough with the politics and onto the writing! I accomplished my two chapter goal last week, and am now over 120 pages into my fourth novel. The more I write, the happier I get with Willow's character and where she is going in life. I think one thing a writer has to do in order to create a good book is to have believable characters that his/her readers can relate to. Willow is by no means perfect, but as her journey has continued, she has grown so much and learned a lot from her experiences in life. By creating characters that seem like real people, with hopes and dreams, fears and worries, I am aiming to write a story that readers can see themselves in. Who hasn't at one time worried that they weren't a good enough parent, kept a secret that was eating them alive, worked so hard to the point of exhaustion to try to give their family a better life, or had dreams so big they fear they may never come true, but still have to dream because it's part of who they are? There is a little bit of Willow Ryan in all of us.

This week, my goal is to crack open a book I bought last week and start doing a writing exercise every single day. I'm hoping to expand my knowledge of writing and find new ways to think and new ways to convey ideas in all of my writing. In addition to the homework I am assigning myself, I also plan to write at least 20 pages this week. I'm excited to see what happens next in Willow's story!