I belong to a tiny writers group in my little town in Costa Rica. We have been together for about 18 months and have traveled internationally once. Although we have all been published somewhere (in my case, I have 10 years worth of an online local newsletter, many many blogs, some publications in newspapers, etc.) our goal is to have and share important breakthroughs in our work, hopefully the result of encouragement and sharing in our group.
My ambition to be a writer started when I was pretty young. I credit the power of the newspaper in getting my parents’ attention as the main inspiration for embarking on that path. When I saw the hours they spent perusing the paper, I knew that reading and writing were very worthwhile pursuits. My parents never interrupted or bothered us with chores when they saw that we were reading.
I began reading Historical Regency Romance authors like Georgette Heyer and Barbara Cartland when I was in my early teens. I also devoured Corin Tellado, Spain’s answer to authors like the former, because I desperately wanted to improve my written and spoken Spanish. One common protagonist-type in most of these stories was the handsome yet sulky “prince Charming” who would always be duped into believing he was saving his damsel even though she had been smart enough to know how to hook him from the start. It isn’t until now that I realize how much I actually bought into that fantasy and always found “difficult” men so much more attractive than the “regular” guy I would seek today if I had to live my (love) life over. Fortunately, I have a good life partner and don’t need to be out there looking for love!
As the days turn to weeks turn to months turn to years, I see that my writing output is large but it is so spread out in my many blogs that I keep failing in my desire to write a really entertaining and engaging novel. I am hopeful, however, that those days are almost behind me. I am preparing to attend the Writers Digest Conference in New York at the end of August. I will be joined in that adventure by a friend who has published a proper book and who is also a lot of fun. Together we will navigate this writing adventure, I know we can both learn a lot from it and from each other. Until then, I will keep writing and sharing in my group and keep an open mind and open ears about everything worth reading and writing.
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