TELLING A PROJECT GOOD-BYE

No, I’m not saying good-bye to blogging. I’m finishing a nonfiction book on Parker, CO and I’m feeling blessed. I can’t explain why some books are easier to write and finish and some are like getting a wisdom tooth extracted. If you are one of those rare folks whose wisdom teeth came out with no pain, ignore that analogy, mine were impacted. This has been an “impacted” book. I’m not sure why.

From the beginning, my family didn’t want me to do it. I ignored their urgings to “take it easy” and forged ahead. A month into the project, I became a walking EKG, and two months in I was recovering from Pacemaker surgery. To be honest, I didn’t feel like writing; I wanted to sleep. I kept pushing myself because deadlines loomed.

If you think this blog is one long gripe session, I’ll jump in here and say I’ve met some wonderful people along the way. A man named James at the Denver Public Library Western History desk and his equally wonderful counterpart in the Photographic Reproductions department whose name is Coi. My local library ladies Robin and Naoma were as always super helpful and I could never have finished without my wonderful friend Marilyn who kept feeding me photos and tidbits. They are the shining stars in my project.

The point here is: I’ve been writing for about thirty-seven years. I’ve written thousands of articles on deadline. I’ve written five nonfiction books and four novels, which have been published. I know I have two more novels to go, including one I have yet to write.
I have NEVER had so much trouble getting a book written. So if you are a writer, don’t get discouraged; don’t throw your writing in the trash. There will always be a book that will be more difficult than the others (an impacted one)—just slog your way through it and keep going.