My Journey to Become a Writer 04/27/2024 Post #118

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I like that her Anne has an “e”.  Instead of puffed sleeves she sports dreadlocks; but as far as being someone who likes to express herself through the written word, I’d say she’s a kindred spirit in line with the Anne with an “e” from Avonlea.

It was strange to drive to Richmond, Indiana where the event took place.  I’m not sure if I have ever been to that town – maybe once before; but that spot set the stage for events in my life long before I was ever born. 

I felt kind of emotional driving toward the campus.

I saw a Dairy Queen, and it reminded me that my dad said he liked pineapple milkshakes from that place when he was sick as a kid.  I wondered if it was from that exact building where his were bought.

My grandpa worked at the college and while he had a wife and three kids he took an interest in the Home Economics professor.  I learned a lot from a stack of letters that particular teacher sent him – she eventually became his second wife. Her epistles to him were something akin to the polar opposite of the warnings in Proverbs about the words of a flattering woman being a snare.  Anyhow, I was thinking about that story as I walked the halls and found my seat.

At the end of the event there was an opportunity to ask Anne Lamott questions.  Because curiosity can make me brave, I somehow got the courage to ask, “How do you write about real life but balance the fear of being sued or hated, since real people are involved in the stories?”

She said something along the lines of: “If people didn’t want to be written about, they should have behaved better.  You own your story and everything that happened to you.  No one can take that away,” then went on to suggest changing their height and hair color and calling it a novel could also work, because people rarely recognize themselves in another’s writing. Maybe one day I will write a story about that stash of letters. 

What Did I Accomplish Today to Be a Writer?

I did Day 118 of the 100 Words a Day Writing Challenge 2024 through L.A. Writers’ Lab.  

How Having Someone Else as My CEO is Helping My Writing & Business Strategy

It’s helped to have someone remind me of the goals I have set for myself, since I tend to get sidetracked. I’ve also needed some encouragement when my stick-to-it-iveness has gotten kind of matted down by discouragement, or a deluge of miscellaneous to-dos.

Thanks for reading what I’m writing,

Jody Susan

Rereading this post from 99 days ago made me laugh out loud. I don’t know why the more potential an event has for embarrassment, the funnier it becomes – with the balm of time:

My Journey to Become a Writer 01/20/2024 Post #20