Thursday’s Child

There was an old nursery rhyme called “Monday’s Child.” It was a little ditty supposedly for children to help them learn the days of the week. I was born on a Thursday. Ascension Thursday, no less. “Thursday’s child has far to go,” was meant for me. From what I’ve read, I can take this one of two ways: First, I will have a long life. I’m hoping for that. Women have good longevity in my family. Both Grandmothers lived long. Mom is 91. Second, it could mean I have a lot of obstacles to overcome. Have you known me long? There were mountains and hills worth of obstacles. Faith and Hope have gotten me through. Sure there are more to come, too. Just realistic, not negative. God has been so very good to me. I’m forever grateful.

Either way, whatever that phrase means, I am here and so happy to be. Life gets better and better. Heck, this morning, I felt great and started a crock pot dinner an hour ago that will be ready at about 6 p.m. or so. Planning ahead. Chicken and noodles. Thanks, Peggy Fischman! My grade school, neighbor, and quilting buddy. Always has a new recipe or two.

The header photo today is my music of the day. I posted it on my personal FB account, asking what was missing? More Jimmy Weber CD’s. I hope there is one despite this pandemic. Jimmy’s a very creative guy, if anyone can produce it, he can. (No pressure, my friend!). Dayna Jones’ CD is great. You can order it from her, and she has a really cute shirt, too. I ordered a long sleeved one and know it’ll rotate into the fall wardrobe a lot. Go Dayna!

I’ve said before, music gets me through a lot of hard times. As a single mom, I was glad to have the drive time from downtown to the 90th & Dodge area near home to just decompress from the day, and relax. It was then much easier to get home to my three kids and spend the evening with them when I wasn’t in school or working my second job. Music is always there, even if no one else is. Now, the Babe and music are always there. Grateful and blessed.

I Love Eleanor Roosevelt. Such an unsung hero.

Still working on character definition for my book, The Freeing of Katie Fitzgibbon’s. Katie has seven, count them seven brothers. They are characters, believe me. It’s fun to make this stuff up. I can do that since I’m doing an actual fiction novel. A couple weeks ago, I was considering creative nonfiction. My book coach, Sam Tyler, mentioned I could be sued. That would certainly be an unfortunate end, wouldn’t it? Since I have no interest in that happening, I have ventured back to fiction. The common disclaimer you see after every movie and at the beginning of every book should cover me. I don’t look good in horizontal stripes, you know? On a writer’s merch website, I saw a shirt that read:

If people don’t like what you write about them, they should have treated you better.

It’s certainly to the point now, isn’t it? I did buy the one that reads:

Careful! Or you’ll end up in my novel!

Another thing I’m learning about with this venture is “Character Agency.” It’s something vital to the story. Plot is driven by the decisions the protagonist (main character) makes. The writer needs to make clear why the character makes a decision they do. An inciting incident voids any possibility of a character continuing to live a normal life. Will they fight or flee?

Writer Topher Kearby sells his creations at http://www.topherkearby.com

I admire Topher’s work, and am Facebook friends with him. His typed words are beautiful. There is also art that go with some of the musings. Check him out.

As I go to do some more domestic chores this early afternoon, I want to thank you for reading today. I hope you have a great day today. I’ll be here again tomorrow, hope to see you then! Stay Safe, Wash Up, Mask Up, Be Kind, Be Thoughtful, and Be Courteous. It’ll help us all. Thank you!

Tuesday Thinking

Hi, friends and family. I hope you are having a great day. A great day can be inside the cool A/C on a hot, humid day. A great day can be outside at the pool or lake. A great day can also be working on some research about fiction. I love real-life detective stories, real crime books, and fiction that includes police work, forensics, and detective work. I’m working on things here and there, and doing some laundry. Laundry is always there, isn’t it?

Around the house, I have stacks of new books, purchased since we moved here. Many, if not most, are fiction. Historical fiction, police work fiction, and some real-crime stories. I have many books still packed away from when we moved. I need to sort through them for discards (donations), keepers, and not going to read ones. It’s time.

When I was a kid in the 1960s, my brother and I would walk to the South Omaha Branch of the Omaha Public Library and find the section labeled “Science,” or “History,” or “Fiction,” and peruse for a book. Not so much anymore.

Dreams Really Should All Come True

If you keep a list of your books on Goodreads, just look sometime how vast the “Fiction,” category is anymore. I am not kidding. Speculative fiction includes Sci-Fi and Fantasy. I thought Realistic Fiction would be a possibility, and I find out it means things that happen to people and how they overcome. Geared towards older readers (older than what? Dirt?). Novels are deemed to be sequential telling of stories of a certain length. (What would that length be?).

Women’s fiction? Books marketed specifically towards women of all ages. Most are written by women. Romance Writers of America lists stories of women, significant growth, emotional reflection, her relationships with others, and hopefully a happy ending.

I want to write a realistic fiction book, mimicking real life, with real life tragedies, based on some things I’ve seen over the years. The age category I think my story may interest is older than the category for realistic fiction. It’s a very important decision that is a pretty big deal. Wow. So much to consider.

I don’t want to limit my audience. I want to reach as many people as possible. This story is about a young woman who learns she is stronger than she thought, more independent than she thought, and more capable than she thought. I suppose from that, I would call this a woman’s fiction book. I think it will also have a Christian flavor to it, as my character has a strong belief in God and His communication with her. Does anyone have any suggestions? I’m open to suggestions, believe me.

Yes, Reading Can Do All This and More!

Thank you for reading today. I will do some more research this evening. I appreciate you reading and spending time with me today. I will see you back here tomorrow, and hope you have a great evening! Be safe. Wash up. Cover your face. Wear a mask.