it's never too late start a new adventure. I'll be 60 in a few months and glad I didn't wait any longer to do what I really love to do...talk via a keyboard.Joyce Finch Brown

I keep putting off and putting off and procrastinating, at the one time in my life I have time as my paycheck and can devote a whole week to writing whatever I want and not be compelled to even leave the house for anything. I enjoy the solitude but don't enjoy this procrastination block. I don't want to analyze why I put it off, maybe I have just wanted it so badly that I scared myself off, or I just like the thought of having written better than the writing (no, can't stand sitting anywhere without paper and pen.)

But maybe haviing a group of writing friends will help me finish up these halfbaked short stories and just let go and let myself work.

Yoby,
I understand procrastination! When I've hit a dead end in my story, I find putting off writing becomes easier and easier. Sometimes it helps if you belong to an on-line writing group - developing a group of people who give you input (mostly positive) helps the motivation to write. I've posted three novels this way; my first one (Dark Paradise) was just published as an ebook and my second one (Trinity James) is under contract for paperback and ebook. The funny thing is, when I began posting the third one, I had only two chapters done and not a clue where the story was going. I got such positive feedback, that I continued writing, posting a chapter a day, and let the story take me where it wanted to go. I feel very encouraged that this novel will also make it to publication, due to the enthusiastic support it received. I found that forcing myself to sit down each day and address the work in progress, helped to finish this piece. Of course, it should always be a pleasureable endeavor for you (often, the first sentence is the hardest). Good luck with getting your stories done! Carolyn

Jcwillis53 wrote: "it's never too late start a new adventure. I'll be 60 in a few months and glad I didn't wait any longer to do what I really love to do...talk via a keyboard.[a:Joyce Finch Brown|2839005|Joyce Finch..."

Jcwillis, I got off my butt and got out here at age 58 and still going strong at 72. Bravo to you. There is life after 50. Ha!

<Minnie Estelle are you from the South with your lovely double name? I would love to have your opinion of my book. It's only available via the internet/ either Barnes and Noble or Amazon. It's called Southern Comfort and it is a collection of short stories about my family and growing up in the South. I have stories from my childhood as well as adult life. I think that everyone can connect with what I wrote no matter where they live. and yes mam there definitely is life after 50...and hopefully 60 and 70 and 80...

Minnie Estelle wrote: "Jcwillis53 wrote: "it's never too late start a new adventure. I'll be 60 in a few months and glad I didn't wait any longer to do what I really love to do...talk via a keyboard.[a:Joyce Finch Brown|..."

I am just the opposite of a southerner. I'm from the Midwest -- Chicago, IL. I won't promise to read your book but I'll keep my eye on it. The double name? My father and mother's parents are to blame -- mostly Daddy Miller.

I worry about age 80.

Minnie Estelle Miller.

it's all about attitude...80 that is...and you have good attitude!!!!

wow! I am so glad you shared your adventure with the rest of the world. We are taking a cruise on Carnival the end of May out of Miami. We think it's the perfect name for a cruise for my family because we are a "carnival" when we all gather together.

Yoby,
keep a small voice recorder with you all of the time. You don't have to force the words, just don't loose them when they pop into your head. I don't think of writing as work and hopefully I never will. I'm not able to "force" anything creative to happen and I doubt that you are. Just grab what comes to you and even if it's not in the correct sequence for the book put it on the recorder or paper. I scribble and record all of the time. I'm not a writer who is employed as a writer. I am a writer who does it for the sheer love of corresponding...I think that is what you are, right?

Yoby, I put a reply on the board. It's not under your comments...sorry. I'll figure this posting thing out sooner or later...evidently LATER. Joyce

Wow, Life as a Cruise ship. Reminds me of a lot of Ana Karinen and War and Peace where whn people get together they just pass pleasantries and puffed up opinions when the world is about to fall on their heads. (I sound like Henny Penny.) And yea, I just love to correspond, can't see people's eyes glazing over that way. I spend words like millionaires (or maybe now it's billionaires) spend money.

Yoby wrote: "Wow, Life as a Cruise ship. Reminds me of a lot of Ana Karinen and War and Peace where whn people get together they just pass pleasantries and puffed up opinions when the world is about to fall on..."
Yoby, it does make you wonder if we are living on a different planet sometimes doesn't it? Wondering what they are going to wear to the next "event" and the rest of us wondering if we'll have a job tomorrow. That was one of the reasons I wrote my book..to give us a chance to reunite with the good in our family and the past. We have so much bad and uncertain to deal with that I needed to reconnect and give some comfort to my life and to others. I'm not Dr Phil or Chicken Soup...just a woman from the South who loves her family and enjoys sharing our crazy life with others. We need more "carol burnett" right now and less reality shows!!!

My mother always tells this joke about a couple touring on a bus to the pyramids with all the local people and their chickens and goats, and the bus breaks down in the middle of the scorching desert and all the smelly people on the bus when it breaks down - and won't' be repaired for another 12 hours. The man is fussing and fuming about the inefficiency and the primitive people when he wife looks at him and say "But honey, that's why they call it an Adventure!"

My father always tell people how I was born with a pencil in my hand. For the longest time, I've always wrote stories or poems. And I lost myself whenever I was writing or creating something.
Three years ago, after an operation, I have a lot of time on my hands. And I wondered what I wanted to do with my life. I've worked in a call center as a customer service agent for the last 10 years. Yet, its not a job I want to do for the rest of my life.
So now I finally found a purpose in my life. My love of romance, history and writing, all rolled into one.

My debut novel is finally out and two more are on the way. And I love every minute of it.

Cheers
MJ
http://mjsmithbooks.weebly.com/index.htm...