I have been away from my writing this week and it isn’t a good feeling. I’ve hinted at what I’ve been doing but now I have to confess. I’ve been a Realtor for the past 10 years and this market has made it so difficult that I’ve had to make the decision to give it up. It hasn’t been easy. It almost feels like cutting off a limb because that is what I was, a Realtor. Now what am I? I have several applications for jobs out and have talked to a temp to hire agency so I feel confident that I will be doing something else soon.
In the meantime, I am trying to focus on the parts of my life that are constant. Besides the given, wife and mother, I am a writer. Though it has been hard to focus on the writing this week, it’s still there waiting for me to return.
I had come up with a very interesting back story for my protagonist. I had been trying to figure out how to add it to my story but while working with it, I think I may have either a short story or possibly even another novel idea. I shared it with one of my writer friends recently, who specializes in short stories, and she encouraged me to maybe work with it as a short. Besides, lots of authors have taken short stories and later turned them into a novel. I suppose it is possible.
I do think the decision to give up my real estate career has stalled my writing but I’m determined not to let it kill my effort. I’m going to keep pushing the story forward until it is finished. I may decide to bounce back and forth between my original idea and this short story idea. I need to feel successful at something right now because giving up real estate has been a big blow to my self-esteem.
What do you do to get back into the story?
I promise to have something positive to post next week. As a teaser, I will be posting a new author interview with Phillip DePoy on Monday. He has a new stand alone book just out. If you haven’t read him, you should. He currently has two mystery series. I have been reading his Fever Devlin series and think it’s great. I won’t go into details here because I want you to come back next week for the interview.
Until next time,
Virginia
