Saturday, January 1, 2011

When one book closes...

Happy New Year! Wow, 2010 was absolutely amazing. I did so many things, it's hard to summarize them. To try would be one epic blog post, that's for sure. Let's see...just a taste, I think.

This year I spent a few months planning weddings in the beauty of Connecticut, journeyed to another time, when the present is known only as "The Histories," spent some time at a magical castle in England, danced with vampires, and battled mythological creatures alongside the ancient gods of Greece. I fell in love numerous times, with various men, and went on dangerous missions to save the world.

You might be asking yourself how one earth I managed to do all of this in the space of only one year. It seems unbelievable. But, of course, the answer is obvious. I did it all from the comfort of my squishy leather couch. I read 66 books in 2010. I know it sounds corny, but for those of us with neither the time nor the resources to do a lot of traveling, the world of books is an easy escape from the day to day doldrums.

It still baffles me when people say they don't like to read. I just think they haven't found the right book. I, being me, like a wide variety of different books. Mostly fiction, but some autobiographical or historical stuff can catch my attention too. But in general, whether they are my cup of tea or not, I think books are amazing. They create entire worlds just using words. They paint word pictures that make those worlds come alive and become real, at least for a little while. The characters in most books evoke feelings of friendship and trust, or anger and dislike from the reader. At least that's how it is to me. I respond to characters in books much as I would to people in real life...perhaps more boldly because I do, in fact, realize they are fictional.

I'm working on creating one (or more) of those worlds myself. I am getting close to the finish of my first complete novel. Of course, that's only half the battle, the actual writing. But we won't get into the complications and impossibilities of getting my writing published. I feel the same way about the world I've created as I do about the ones I've visited throughout that past year and, really, my entire life. I don't control the characters as much as you'd might think, being the author and all. They are many layered, and I don't always even know what they're going to do. It sounds bizarre, and maybe a little crazy, which I probably am. I enjoy visiting them as much as I've enjoyed creating them though, even if the location isn't as exotic as some I've visited in my book journeys.

Perhaps if I weren't so ADD I would be able to finish my book. Just these few paragraphs have taken me almost an hour to write. As soon as I opened up the page to compose a new entry, I had the overwhelming urge to play some Solitaire, and Men in Black is on, which is always distracting due to Will Smith's hotness. So far, 2011 feels pretty close to 2010. I've already finished my first book of the year though. Percy Jackson is highly addictive. I think I'll go start another one. Go read, my friends! You never know where you might go :)

1 comment:

  1. I never finished my book from NaNoWriMo 2009 either, but I blame that on the laptop screen being busticated and therefore I can't access it. I probably won't ever finish it. Sad day.

    Will Smith is totally hot.

    I love reading, but I tell you what, I haven't done much of it in the past year. I meant to, and when I got pregnant I got sleepy, and then my sister moved in with me and I didn't want to read, because I wanted to hang out with her. I think my reading goal for 2011 will be to actually finish "Gone With the Wind." Have you read that one?

    ReplyDelete