My new year in writing

In the new year, I am increasing my focus on writing, but first I have had to embrace and accept the fact that I write within the horror genre. Reading the book On Writing Horror has helped quite a bit in that respect. Though I am not even half way through, I have encountered numerous entries from respected authors who also struggled with the stigma of writing something other than mainstream literary fiction. Apparently I am not alone! Now I vow to spend my time learning to be a writer and honing my craft. In addition to reading about not just writing horror, but also about writing in general, I will be continuing with my monthly writing group, and have made the decision to attend my first writer's conference this spring. I will include the details on this in a future post. Currently I have the novel I started for NaNo this past November (Plain Folk) that still needs my attention. I met the 50,000 word challenge, but did not reach a conclusion with my story, so I want to get back to it while the idea is still somewhat fresh. In addition to finishing the thought there, I have a short story (Bitter Pill) started and rewrites on my very first NaNo novel (The Gingerbread Lady) that I will be working on in the coming months. I have a good feeling about this and look forward to my journey into this relatively new endeavor.

I promise to not let my attention to my art lag while I spend more time writing however. In many ways I think that the art and the writing will prove to be good companions. I took some of the money I made this fall selling my painted softballs and bought a work light for my studio. (The overhead fixture just wasn't cutting it.) Though I have only been putzing down there, it has proven to be a good investment. Now that I am pretty well outfitted, I will continue with what I was working on prior to the holidays as well as beginning some new things that have been floating around in my head lately. I will be venturing into making pieces that combine my interests in sculpting and painting by fashioning dimensional wall hangings. I also would like to try out some hand painted banners this year. I am excited about all of the possibilities.