Originally published November 27, 2015
This four-day weekend is, for me, a bit of a marathon. It is true that I have plans for more than sitting in front of my computer and typing away at my manuscript. I have made a great deal of progress. Adding close to 20,000 words this month and taking the time to review and refine what is already written. This is crucial since the more information I gather, well, the more accurate I can be. And I don’t want to miss incorporating some new bit or correcting previous assumptions.
At this point I have outlined the manuscript to the end. The last chapters are sketched and I was in the process of moving notes from various note pages collected over the past few years into the spot they will be the most help. I ran across this quote I had saved from Clive Barker.
“Thence, one of my mantras as an author, although it doesn’t really speak directly of character creation: “I am a man, and men are animals who tell stories. This is a gift from God, who spoke our species into being, but left the end of our story untold. That mystery is troubling to us. How could it be otherwise? Without the final part, we think, how are we to make sense of all that went before: which is to say, our lives?
So we make stories of our own, in fevered and envious imitation of our Maker, hoping that we’ll tell, by chance, what God left untold. And finishing our tale, come to understand why we were born.”
I may not hit my goal in word count or timing for completion of the draft; but I have found that my enthusiasm for the subject is still strong and bits and pieces of ideas I have had for years are falling into place. I have several people to thank for the inspiration to move forward with this project. As you all well know this has been a year of major changes for me.
So this is my Thanksgiving. For friends and family that have supported me and comforted me during one of the most difficult times of my life; and who have encouraged me to seek my path forward.
Wishing you holidays that bring you peace if not joy, comfort if not cheer.
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