Another chapter (technically two) down the hatch in my fanfiction serial All I Wanna Do. It’s amazing to me, the effect that reading has on my writing. It’s my goal this year to keep it up and let the two feed each other. The more I write, the more I read. And the more I read, the better I write.

Chapters 59&60 are set in Greece- they’re still on vacation. They are the last two Greece chapters because I just didn’t want to go on and on. For one, the research and keeping things sounding authentic slows down the process a lot. I need a visual so I can show, not tell. I spend so much time looking for details, like how do people get from Santorini to Volos and what time do Greek people eat dinner and is there satellite TV in Greece and picking out hotel rooms so I can envision the space. It’s quite time consuming and frustrating when I don’t find what I think I am looking for– perfect but not “perfect”.

I recently was listening to the audio book version of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky. Ms Durrow reminded me of what good writing is, and how authors paint a picture with words. I think listening to books is having a better effect on my writing than even reading them. I’ve started The Kitchen House, now. Eager to dig into that, and I’m loving the Irish brogue and dialect! It’s another beautifully written book that I’m sure is going to help me bring out details and write above the fanfiction stereotype of badly written prose in which a teeny MC moons over a handsome rich celebrity. I don’t write those kinds of stories.

I continue to be impacted by these last two chapters… Serena is finally in her “hometown” of Volos, where her native Greek grandparents are from. She gets a chance to take a piece of her history back with her. That she gets to experience this with someone she loves so deeply and who loves her more is icing on the cake. THough I do enjoy writing them butting heads, I also really enjoy writing her vulnerability and her walls finally coming down and carefully, very tentatively, trusting him.

The other thing I’m enjoying is the bit at the end of Chapter 60– switching things up and letting the woman take over a traditionally male role is fun. So is him not playing along. He’s kind of a butthead. It’s now going to be fun for him to play with her for a little bit.

I also did a bit of writing this week on Caged Bird… not really writing but some journaling that helped me dig into the main character. I’m still struggling with where to pick up the story. I need to get out of the linear writing habit. I just feel so stuck on this story and the longer it takes me to write it the more idiotic I think it is. But it won’t leave me alone! Lol.

This week more reading and some chapter planning. I say this every chapter but seriously, this story is ending very soon. Maybe in the next chapter… I don’t know. That’s why I need chapter planning!