Andrea Green's Blog - Posts Tagged "amwriting"
My debut novel, why I wrote it & updates on Book #2
I've been writing since I was little. Whether it was my diary, once every 2 or 3 months for a couple years, poems, or the beginning of about one million and two stories. It used to be my go-to whenever I was upset or stressed.
Somewhere along the way, I let my stresses overtake me, and I didn't write for a long time. Life got in the way, and there were times I couldn't see my way out of a paper sack. After a car accident, I was diagnosed as borderline depressed. Later, I was told I had anxiety, and then, during a particularly rough part of my life came the panic attacks.
What I am trying to say, is that what is called "mental illness," (I hate that term) isn't a weakness, it isn't bad, it just means you've been too strong for too long with not enough support. Period.
My first husband was in the Air Force and was deployed to Desert Shield/Desert Storm as a Civil Engineer. Even though he was nowhere near the front line, there was still some amount of risk. His squadron was housed in a tent city right off the runway at Diyarbakir and Incirlik. I feared what would happen if the runways were ever bombed. Every spouse's nightmare is opening the door to the base chaplain. So, to some extent, I understand what military personnel and their families go through. We were lucky and he was not injured. But I came to hold great respect for both military personnel and their families. It is a hard, stressful life, and sometimes the only consolation is that you are doing the right thing. That there is a greater purpose.
When military personnel is sent home, whether it's the end of their commitment, or because they have been medically discharged, they have a hard adjustment to civilian life. And our country utterly fails them. They deserve the best of care, free housing for life, no taxes for life, no stress, so they can concentrate on their recovery and remaining healthy. That's what we should be giving them for signing their names on the line.
I've seen too many heartbreaking stories of veterans being forgotten, homeless, alone. I decided if I could do nothing more than make 1 or 2 people aware of their plight, then maybe I can make a tiny difference in a veteran's life.
So, that's why my book is about a wounded veteran.
I am currently working on book number 2, which will take place in the gap year from book number 1. The 2 main characters, are people you already know from book 1, and hopefully, love enough to want to read. It's a slow start because the book isn't speaking to me yet, but it will. So hold tight, I'm hoping to have this book done and published by sometime this summer.
Somewhere along the way, I let my stresses overtake me, and I didn't write for a long time. Life got in the way, and there were times I couldn't see my way out of a paper sack. After a car accident, I was diagnosed as borderline depressed. Later, I was told I had anxiety, and then, during a particularly rough part of my life came the panic attacks.
What I am trying to say, is that what is called "mental illness," (I hate that term) isn't a weakness, it isn't bad, it just means you've been too strong for too long with not enough support. Period.
My first husband was in the Air Force and was deployed to Desert Shield/Desert Storm as a Civil Engineer. Even though he was nowhere near the front line, there was still some amount of risk. His squadron was housed in a tent city right off the runway at Diyarbakir and Incirlik. I feared what would happen if the runways were ever bombed. Every spouse's nightmare is opening the door to the base chaplain. So, to some extent, I understand what military personnel and their families go through. We were lucky and he was not injured. But I came to hold great respect for both military personnel and their families. It is a hard, stressful life, and sometimes the only consolation is that you are doing the right thing. That there is a greater purpose.
When military personnel is sent home, whether it's the end of their commitment, or because they have been medically discharged, they have a hard adjustment to civilian life. And our country utterly fails them. They deserve the best of care, free housing for life, no taxes for life, no stress, so they can concentrate on their recovery and remaining healthy. That's what we should be giving them for signing their names on the line.
I've seen too many heartbreaking stories of veterans being forgotten, homeless, alone. I decided if I could do nothing more than make 1 or 2 people aware of their plight, then maybe I can make a tiny difference in a veteran's life.
So, that's why my book is about a wounded veteran.
I am currently working on book number 2, which will take place in the gap year from book number 1. The 2 main characters, are people you already know from book 1, and hopefully, love enough to want to read. It's a slow start because the book isn't speaking to me yet, but it will. So hold tight, I'm hoping to have this book done and published by sometime this summer.
Reading, Writing & Mental Health
I can't even begin to tell you how many times someone has asked why do you enjoy reading? (Or, why do you like to write?)
The answer is both simple, and complicated. The simple part is, that reading and writing are an escape. They're an escape from real life. I read every day anyway, but when I've had it up to the gills with reality, I want to escape to someone else's world. I don't want to think about my life, I'd rather read about someone else's fictional life.
Most books have a happy ending. Or, at least they have a resolved ending. Real-life? Not so much. I like to read about a character and their happy endings. I like to know, that at least in someone's imagination, good things can happen.
The same with my writing. I like to tell stories, and often some of my own anxieties and worries bleed into those stories. Take my debut novel, Stronger Together. Granted, I never suffered the abuse Susie has, I have never dealt with the grave injuries that Hunter and Kent have suffered. (Although I do have injuries of my own) I do, however, have the anxiety of whether I will ever find someone who truly accepts me despite my problems, and loves me regardless. I want the casual affection that comes from truly loving someone and knowing them. And I fear that real life doesn't turn out the way books do. So, I read and I write. Because at least in stories, I don't have to read books with sad endings, and I can write books that turn out happy for everyone.
There are times when I think the only things that have kept me from losing my shi(take mushrooms) are my daughter, reading, and writing.
So, after all of this rambling, I guess what I am saying is, don't let anyone shame you for needing to escape reality for a little while, in whatever (healthy) way you need to. Whether it's reading, writing, working out, photography, etc. You do whatever is needed for you to stay sane. Especially with life being as rough as it is right now.
Peace and love!
The answer is both simple, and complicated. The simple part is, that reading and writing are an escape. They're an escape from real life. I read every day anyway, but when I've had it up to the gills with reality, I want to escape to someone else's world. I don't want to think about my life, I'd rather read about someone else's fictional life.
Most books have a happy ending. Or, at least they have a resolved ending. Real-life? Not so much. I like to read about a character and their happy endings. I like to know, that at least in someone's imagination, good things can happen.
The same with my writing. I like to tell stories, and often some of my own anxieties and worries bleed into those stories. Take my debut novel, Stronger Together. Granted, I never suffered the abuse Susie has, I have never dealt with the grave injuries that Hunter and Kent have suffered. (Although I do have injuries of my own) I do, however, have the anxiety of whether I will ever find someone who truly accepts me despite my problems, and loves me regardless. I want the casual affection that comes from truly loving someone and knowing them. And I fear that real life doesn't turn out the way books do. So, I read and I write. Because at least in stories, I don't have to read books with sad endings, and I can write books that turn out happy for everyone.
There are times when I think the only things that have kept me from losing my shi(take mushrooms) are my daughter, reading, and writing.
So, after all of this rambling, I guess what I am saying is, don't let anyone shame you for needing to escape reality for a little while, in whatever (healthy) way you need to. Whether it's reading, writing, working out, photography, etc. You do whatever is needed for you to stay sane. Especially with life being as rough as it is right now.
Peace and love!
Beginnings, the middle, and The End
How many times have you gone to Amazon to look at a book, and it tells you it has an HEA? Some of us (a lot?) read books just for the HEAs. Real-life is difficult and sometimes we just have to read something to restore our faith that we're going to be okay.
I was reading a book recently that talked about how the MC's life had a beginning and a middle, that there was no end. And that makes sense. Until we're gone, there is no end to our personal stories. There are only a beginning and a middle.
Books are the same way. There are a beginning and a middle. But the book is over. It has an ending. But is that really the end of the story? Yes, maybe, but is that the end of the story for the characters? No, not really.
Think about it. How many books have an epilogue to tell you what happens later? How many books do we read and start to believe in the characters? How many times do we become invested in their stories? No, the characters are not (generally, unless it's non-fiction) real. They don't have real lives. But for that space in time, while we read their stories, in our minds, they are real. We imagine them in our minds, picture the events. We keep reading to find out what happens. For that moment, they are real. For that moment, their stories will not end with the book.
So no, these books have no end. They just have a beginning and a middle. And now that this blog is complete, I'm going to try to get some work done on my book's beginning and middle.
I was reading a book recently that talked about how the MC's life had a beginning and a middle, that there was no end. And that makes sense. Until we're gone, there is no end to our personal stories. There are only a beginning and a middle.
Books are the same way. There are a beginning and a middle. But the book is over. It has an ending. But is that really the end of the story? Yes, maybe, but is that the end of the story for the characters? No, not really.
Think about it. How many books have an epilogue to tell you what happens later? How many books do we read and start to believe in the characters? How many times do we become invested in their stories? No, the characters are not (generally, unless it's non-fiction) real. They don't have real lives. But for that space in time, while we read their stories, in our minds, they are real. We imagine them in our minds, picture the events. We keep reading to find out what happens. For that moment, they are real. For that moment, their stories will not end with the book.
So no, these books have no end. They just have a beginning and a middle. And now that this blog is complete, I'm going to try to get some work done on my book's beginning and middle.
