This weekend I wrote quite prolifically, I have thus far reached 60,000+ words, some of them gems, and some of them need to be expanded upon. According to the Mr I am now approximately 1/3 through my book. In the end The Story Of Mildred is really going to be quite larger and more richly documented than I had ever dreamed. I’m estimating to complete roughly 200,000 words before I can call this book done, though in my heart I know that it won’t be done. There is so much I want to accomplish that I know this book will not be lonely long before I start composing it’s sibling.
It’s weird for me to think that I even started along this path, that I am actually writing more than just bi-weekly blog posts, that four little paragraphs sprinkled with humor could so quickly blossom into such a large project.
It’s all a little overwhelming, truth be told. Sometimes I look around at the shelves upon shelves of fantasy novels in our house and let a little self doubt sink in. How on earth could I stand to compare myself to these authors, these brilliant minds that have shared their worlds and imaginations with the world.
The fact is, I can’t. I’ve come to the realization that though I admire them, how I think and how I write is nothing like them at all. This thought has been swirling around in my head for a couple of weeks now, moving itself in and out of my unconscious mind. Then something hit me like a bolt of lightening strait out of the clear blue sky and I have finally found some peace.
I can’t compare myself to these other authors in the way that an apple can not compare itself to a carrot. One of the main reasons I think that I have been struggling with the difference between how I write and think an these books I so love is that I am, at my very foundation, completely different than them. I am a woman. I see and think about things much differently than the authors of the books that I really love. Making that discovery I have decided to search out well known female authors in this genra. And you know what I’ve found?
Once you remove the vampire romanace novels, and those teetering on the edge of just being more romance than fantasy you are left with one hell of a short list. I can list only a few before having google do my walking. Robin Hobb, Anne McCaffery, Maragret Weis, and from there my list grows thin.
So, with my determination renewed I’m ready once more to charge head first back into this book. Even if nothing ever becomes of it, I will have managed to weave together a story and created people that I know I would want to read.
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In news unrelated to writing I have an FO to show, but I couldn’t bring myself to blog about it today for some reason. I think The Story of Mildred has eaten my brain while it tries to decide how to map out the Yeti Capital. (You know what? It’s probably best you don’t ask 
I’ve also promised the Mr that I am going to download the audio book of Wheel of Time (book one). I have never been able to do this series past book two and I think that kind of saddens the husband, so I’ve come to a compromise. At the very least I will try.
(This is completely random, but I think it’s funny that wordpress spell-checker thinks that “Blog” is not a word. HA! A blog spell checker doesn’t recognize BLOG as a word! Awesome.)
