Disclaimer: It’s been a while since I’ve written a decent blog post. And for some reason, I find that writing in the third person, or writing in my ‘have you ever’ voice is always the best way for me to get warmed up. I think the last time I wrote anything, in the first person action voice, was over a year ago? And that’s only because I had really dramatic material to work with. Also, I am really sick of writing about my health issues, but as much as I tried, apparently, I can’t avoid bringing them up. Anyway, here is my pathetic attempt to return to the world of blogging.
Onward.
Once upon a time there live a girl named, Meleah. And in 2007, she decided to write a novel. In fact, her thoughts and ideas surrounding that novel kept her awake at night. Except that Meleah really didn’t know how to write a novel, mostly because she attended a very strange boarding school that didn’t exactly focus on education as much as it did cruel and unusual punishment. But that didn’t stop her from trying anyway.
She stayed up countless nights, diligently pecking away at they keyboard, emotionally vomiting on paper. Word after word, sentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph, page after page, thoughts and ideas flowed, for days, and weeks, and months.
But then she got sick.
And then she got sicker.
And in 2008 Meleah’s world came to a sudden halt.
And so did her novel.
In 2009, Meleah toyed with the idea of returning to her novel, mostly because after blogging for three years, she had a much better grasp on the written word. And, she had made friends with fellow writers. One person in particular was kind enough to steer Meleah in the right direction. And then she learned how to use the comma, properly. Along with other valuable tools like correct spelling, and spacing, and other necessary punctuation; all of which are basic skills Meleah never learned in high school.
Once again, she stayed up countless nights, diligently pecking away at they keyboard, emotionally vomiting on paper, rewriting and re-editing everything she has previously written. Word after word, sentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph, page after page, thoughts and ideas flowed, for days, and weeks, and months.
But then she got sick.
And then she got sicker.
And by the end of 2009 Meleah’s world came to a sudden halt, again.
And so did her novel.
For nearly two years, Meleah’s novel stayed locked in a box, collecting dust, underneath her perfectly made bed. She never looked it. And she certainly never talked about it. She was ready to chalk it up as one of her greatest failures. She even considered burning it.
But as much as she wanted to forget all about her book, she couldn’t stop thinking about it. Especially when the character voices screamed inside of her head. And plot twists plagued her dreams. However, when people asked about her book or how it was coming along, she would cringe at the very notion of ever returning to it.
So she came up with all kinds of excuses, and even some logical reasons, in order to avoid working on her novel, mostly because she knew just how much work it entailed, and just how difficult it would be.
And then one day in 2011, her grandfather, scolded Meleah.
“Stop being so hard on your self!” Poppa Sye shouted, after listening to her bash another piece of writing. And then he proceeded to remind Meleah, “It’s never the story you tell, it’s how you tell the story. And you, my dear, made writing about the lack of toilet paper an interesting read. The only thing holding you back is you. So get off your behind, quit playing games, and get back to writing. Will ya?”
And that very conversation, gave Meleah the inspiration, she very much needed.
Once again, Meleah stayed up countless nights, diligently pecking away at they keyboard, emotionally vomiting on paper. Word after word, sentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph, page after page, thoughts and ideas flowed, for days, and weeks, and months.
And right before Poppa Sye passed away, Meleah promised him that she would finish her novel, no matter what.
In 2012, Meleah wrote with more passion and more dedication than ever before. She finally got real. And she finally got serious. And nothing could stand in her way. In fact, with the help of someone incredible, she managed to make extraordinary strides and character developments beyond her wildest dreams. And she never felt happier, or more at peace, simply because she fully embraced her calling in life.
And once again, Meleah stayed up countless nights, diligently pecking away at they keyboard, but this time, she wasn’t emotionally vomiting on paper. Oh, no. This time she wrote with a genuine purpose. And she had a very clear direction.
Word after word, sentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph, page after page, thoughts and ideas flowed, with an unstoppable force, only furthering her determination.
And this went on for 26 consecutive weeks.
But then the summer arrived.
And Meleah got caught up in all of the fun.
And she didn’t make any time for her novel.
Or her blog.
And then she beat herself up for letting everything fall to the wayside.
And then she got sick.
And then she got sicker.
And then she went for some new tests.
And she had to make all kinds of appointments with all kinds of new specialists.
But that didn’t freak her out, mostly because, she’s used to all of this medical nonsense. And she knows whatever will be will be. And there’s not a whole lot she can do about it.
But now that’s all over with. And Meleah is back on track.
She has a routine, and a schedule, and everything is falling into place. And she doesn’t care if she gets sick, or if she gets sicker, she’s not coming up with excuses again, she’s not letting self-doubt trick her again, and she’s not giving up on her novel again.
And also, those darn characters are keeping her up at night again.
Oh, I believe in you, Babs!
Wow! Thanks for being a inspiration. I’ve been making up excuses for ages about everything. I’ve had a bit of a tough summer myself but now I’m tired of not getting things done. I’m right there with you writing again.
Yay!! Let’s do this together!!
This is such a powerful piece, Meleah! You are inspiring and amazing. You’ll get there! I have no question at all!
I love you, Big Sis!! xoxoxo
I love you too, Chica!
I bow down…
🙂
I think you’ve gotten some pretty darned good advice there from everyone. I agree with 110% Poppa Sye – you have a knack to turn a simple tale about the lack of toilet paper into a hilarious Greek tragedy. That’s what makes your writing so addictive.
It’s hard to write the story, especially when it comes from the heart. Poppa Sye had it right – stop beating yourself up over this. We can be our own worst critics at times. A great saga takes time to tell. No matter how long it takes, no matter how many re-writes you do, no matter matter how many distractions, we’ll still wait for the story to unfold.
So many things conspire to stop you from writing a good novel. Not only is there a good story forming on the page, there is the story of just trying to write in the first place. I’ve been there, I’ve seen novels stop and start so many times….
Looky here. You just wrote an amazing post that read like a story of how you are trying to write a novel. Bravo. Based on your blog, I can’t wait to read your novel. As a side note: After an excruciating year of weirdness, most of which I documented in my drafts folder, I had the light-bulb moment of turning it into a short story. Why not take all this crap and turn it into something? We’ll see where it goes.
Your comment MADE MY DAY, Agg!
Thank you.
It’s a process.
Sage advice!
Good for you, kiddo! Do it for the joy it brings you and it’s likely to bring joy to everyone else, as well.
Thanks for the support, Jayne!!
And you, my dear, made writing about the lack of toilet paper an interesting read.
i totally agree! i use this as my photography tagline, but i am willing to share it with you only: you bring the ordinary to life!
Oh Val, I love that!
Thank you!
xoxoxo
I have had about six pages done for a year. I need to get back on track. Your words, “And right before Poppa Sye passed away, Meleah promised him that she would finish her novel, no matter what.” made me stop in my tracks. WOW! And btw, when it is published, I am buying FIVE copies of your book!
I love you!!!! XOXOX
I know you will finish your book and that it will get published. It takes most people at least 3 or 4 years to write a novel so I think you are pretty much on track considering all the health issues you’ve faced. You will do it. I know it. And I will be doing star jumps to celebrate.
routine and schedule and kick arse coffee. You WILL do it.
xx
Awww! Thank you Selma.
And actually one the the Real Housewives of NY has been writing a book, and she’s highly educated, with no health issues, and it’s taken HER over four years to finish her book.
I honestly felt MUCH better when I heard that!
Thanks, girl!
I’ve been slogging away through my novel with barely a moment to come up for blog air and I was thinking I needed some clever saying to keep me motivated. The only problem is I haven’t had time to stop novel slogging for long enough to look for clever sayings and besides if I did I would just end up shopping on Amazon anyway. I finally got a moment to myself and decided to visit some blogs I love and what do I find here? Clever sayings! Thank you for the inspiration (for BOTH of us) my friend. I’m drinking coffee in Panera even now and about to get back to the writing but it has been so good to visit my blogging friends!
Aw! YAY! I’m so happy your novel is coming along!
Although I have really missed you here in the blog world, Nora!
I can’t wait to read your book! As you know, I’m in the same boat with you and damnation woman! it ain’t easy writing a book. I didn’t think it would be a piece of cake but oy, I can’t wait to finish this thing. I love all of those inspiration photos you posted. Keep on truckin’ sister — we can both do this!
And I can *totally* relate to not blogging for many, many moons. I don’t think anyone is going to be left when I finally finish this thing.
KELLY!!!!!!!!
Love you, woman!
And I am so proud of you and Jennifer. I cannot wait to read the book!
XOXOXO
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