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| View of Charleston, S.C., from the hotel |
After way too long, I’m
finally getting back to my book of 2015. The first draft was done, but then
with moving, renovating, other life issues, and a trip to attend a wedding in
Wichita, Kansas, the book was put aside. Now, with two books with first drafts,
I feel compelled to finish them before going on to any other writing.
For a while, I debated about which
book to finish first, the 2015 trip or the 2016. There are options for going
either way. I feel incomplete because I haven’t finished either one. And
although I’ve also written the main body of the first draft to the Kansas trip
(which I just finished last month), I can’t do more on that one until I finish
the previous one (not that it really matters which one I do first). Finishing
weighs heavy on me.
Sometimes, I get stuck on questions
for which there are various answers. I have to stop letting issues like this put
off re-starting. One big question is the use of names. This is an issue with
many writers. When to use a name, what kind of permission to get (do you need a
legal form?), to be formal or informal. One of the last suggestions I read was
to just use a first name or change the name.
I never use someone’s name
without permission. I ask, and if yes, will just make a note of it. But after
all this time, are those permissions still valid. Then, too, I feel I owe these
people who gave me permission to mention them in my book. It is my way of
honoring them for taking time to talk to me.
Yes, I could probably let it
go and move on, but I don’t want to. I put too much work into both manuscripts
to just give up. I took hundreds of pictures on those trips and there are
stories to tell. I fall asleep thinking about it and wake up with it on my
mind.
Yesterday, I woke mulling
over the 2015 trip. Decision made, I’m ready to get on with it. I have to do
this, even though it’s been over three years now. The time-frame doesn’t really
matter. The story matters along with the life-lessons learned.
The start, or re-start, is
made. The excitement returns. I can’t wait to tell my story.
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