Writing By Laura

My short story for April is titled “Times Infinity” and thankfully I just finished it and I’m not writing it for an infinity (even though I made it sound like I was about to finish it in my previous post a while ago). (Sorry Buzz Lightyear, no “infinity and beyond” for you.) I’m sorry we’re practically halfway through the month and I just finished my story for last month. My parents and I just moved and it’s been a tad hectic. So I’ve been struggling with motivation to write.

However, that said, I’m still incredibly motivated to complete this project of 12 months of stories and I’m enjoying finishing stories. Although, I will say (and maybe others who write or do some kind of art or something can agree) I feel like something I write is never finished. <Record scratch> “What? Isn’t finishing a short story every month the whole point of this blog?” you ask. Yes. And I am finishing the stories I write each month and talk about on this blog; but what I’m saying is with something I create I feel like I can always be tweaking them. At the risk of sounding and looking pretentious, here’s a good quote from Leonardo da Vinci about art that I think applies to all forms of art, including the written word.

That said, I do think that this project of “finishing” monthly short stories is helping me write better endings and actually get to a place where they feel more finished. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get over the feeling that I could tweak my writing.

Image from: GoodReads NaNoWriMo Blog

Another goal, although unspoken, I had for this blog was to be able to conclude stories in a way I had planned and have happen what I planned (in my head) in the plot. Before this project I would get an idea I loved but by the time I completed it (which truthfully didn’t happen often) it would have turned into a different story. I feel like the more stories I write the more in control I am of the plot and characters. That’s what happened this time. My protagonist came practically fully formed along with the story idea. I felt like I was getting told a story by an actual person and I was just repeating that story. (I know that sounds 🥜 and kind hippie dippy, but it’s how I felt.) After reading this HuffPost article I feel a little less alone in my nutty ways. My protagonist was a newly retired nurse in her 60s who finds out her husband cheated on her a lot. There’s a twist to the story (a few actually) but I’m not going to reveal those. All I can say was Miranda (my protagonist) wanted to be heard and I feel like she was.

So onwards I travel on this journey of mine. On to May’s short story (finally). As I mentioned previously, I’m writing stories inspired by and dedicated to the people (or dogs as the case may be) in my life who are celebrating a birthday that corresponding month. In March it was my nephew and his dog Bella (@bellajocavalier). In May it’s my niece’s and puppy’s (@selbysweetie) birthday month. I haven’t quite come up with a story idea yet (it usually hits me in a burst of inspiration). However, as I mentioned before, I plan to focus more on my niece and she likes geography, soccer and animals. I was kind of thinking of a Where in the world is Carmen San Diego?” kind of theme (I just dated myself with that reference). When I decide for sure (quickly, I promise) I’ll post again to update.

Image from: https://www.gamingrebellion.com/2017/12/where-on-earth-is-carmen-sandiego-a-masterclass-in-crime/