Short Story Struggling

Happy Tuesday!

Happy World Book Day!!  How cool.  Didn’t know there was such a thing!

Now, I wonder if there is a Southern Book Day. That would also be cool. I’m just a little prone to southern things. One can’t help it when you’re brought up in Alabama, Georgia and parts of Florida.

So, having some “issues.”  I took a break from doing research and decided to work on a short story for an upcoming writers workshop. Whoa!  I have writers block!!!  And yes, it is real. I had to dig up some old stories that I don’t particularly like and try to fix one or two. Not working. So what do I do? Punt.

Yes, I punt. I will get out all of the “craft” info – stuff that tells me how to write, how to find a plot, how to make characters’ effective, etc. So back to the basics for this writer.  I’ve got umpteen books on the subject and some I should have memorized by now. So, here goes…

Maybe, just maybe…I’ll read a favorite author’s book. See how to do it again.  Yeah, that’ll do it.

Have a great week!

Jody

Southern Snow

We love the snow here in the South, but we respect it even more. Maybe it’s because those of us, who are born and bred Southerners, didn’t grow up with much white stuff on the ground, so we revere it and cower to its authority.

When we hear the weatherman on Channel 2 say the words, “Winter Storm Warning,” we rush to the nearest Kroger and load up our pick-ups and SUVs. Next, we make a stop at Ace Hardware and buy pellets to melt the ice, a new scraper for the car windshields, and possibly another huge plastic disk or a sled for the kids, just in case. In our area, knowing the snow is coming means there is no school. All schools in all counties will not take the risk of having a school bus slide across a slick blacktop.

So we accept our fate and bow down to Mother Nature. Let the snow come. Bring on the sleet and ice. Once we all make it home from work, we don’t move. We will not leave our homes once the first flakes appear. We will hunker down, make ready the emergency kits for when the power goes out, and figure out what to do with antsy children after the initial fun of sliding down the street wears off.

Yes, we will. We southerners are a strong lot.

Stay warm. Bye ya’ll,

Jody

“Monday, Monday…can’t help that day..”

Here in Kennesaw, Georgia, it didn’t snow. We just have a miserable, cold, rainy Monday. On a gloomy day like today, my mom’s voice says to me “It’s a soup day…got to be a soup day.”  So I pleaded with my sweet husband, and guess what’s for dinner. You see, he’s a much better cook than I am.

I have always been a comfort-food cook. An easy-smeazy comfort cook. Nothing elaborate, just feed whatever masses need feeding. My husband, on the other hand, is Italian and creative, both in the kitchen and at the piano.  So, ’nuff said…

Today was a day for checking the work from my new editor after she sent back my first chapter.  Not bad. She did exactly as I asked. I knew it would be painful and it was, a little, but then again, I can take it. I say it again. I can take it. So the entire manuscript left my emotional grip and flew through the internet into her arms. Now back to tackling research for Book No. 2.

I thought of an expression today which summed up our collective feeling about Spring. Robin Williams, rest his amazingly funny soul, said, “Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s Party!'” It cannot come quick enough for me. Today is February 16 so if Spring begins officially on March 20, then there are 32 more days until Party Time!!

Have a great week!

Jody

Welcome! I write with a southern accent…

I figured it was time to begin “the blog.”

I am a writer and my first book is finally finished. It only took five years of starting and stopping and starting again. Boy does life have a way of putting you on hold. Moving and getting married again at this age (which we are not going to go into at the present time) kept me quite busy for a time. However, I kept on writing, and since the novel is complete and heading toward an editor’s desk, I thought it was time to officially declare myself an author. I’ve written short stories for years, learning that the more I write, the more I learn, and the better my writing becomes. Currently, I’m working on my second book and a new short story.

I regress…The first novel is titled, Weather Permitting — it’s the story of Sara Palmer and her journey of self-discovery after a heartbreaking divorce in mid-life. Occasionally, I will post excerpts from the book, when it gets to the stage of “NO MORE EDITS” from my editor. I am considering making this the first novel in a trilogy.  We’ll see.

I love to write about strong southern women, the way they talk, express opinions, relate to each other, and how they treat the people they love. During my research, I find so many wonderful quotes–some borrowed from fantastic authors, so many southern tidbits. I’d love to hear from your bank of “southernisms.”

Please be patient with me…I’m new at this blogging thing, and thank you for joining me on this journey.

By the way, I’m currently re-reading Fannie Flagg’s Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café. Have you ever read it? Or did you see the movie?

Loved this movie!!
Loved this movie!!

Southern quote for the week —

“Face it girls. I’m older and I have more insurance.” Fanny Flagg, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café

Have a wonderful week! See you soon.

Jody

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