I'm working on the Great American Novel. This story has been floating around in various stages of development for so long that Marty has threatened to claim Jessi, the main character, as a dependent on our taxes. Additionally, Buckaroo and Polly often bring Jessi up in conversation like she's a member of the family.
The first draft of the story was completed on July 19, 2017. The very next day Bonus Mom suddenly passed away and I couldn't bear to deal with anything for the longest time. For the past year-ish I have made several edits and re-writes, but it wasn't until I moved to Texarkana that I started taking this project seriously. Part of taking this seriously has come from my Wednesday Girls.
Every Wednesday I get together with a group of writers. We all have diverse backgrounds and our stories are all different. We go over our chapters and give feedback to each other. Jenny lives in Alabama (of all places) and is writing a young adult book like me. Ellen lives in the Netherlands. She has mad dialogue skills. Annie lives in Ecuador and is writing a romance book, which she intends to make into a fabulous series (I'm already hooked). Both Ellen's and Annie's native languages are Spanish (Ellen is not originally from The Netherlands) and it blows me away how phenomenal they write in English.
My Great American Novel project was so important to me that when I negotiated to work at the ole Brokerage, I insisted on Wednesdays off. In fact, the only Wednesday Girls meetings I've missed thus far were the two weeks where my father was actively dying and the week he passed away.
I haven't made many (or frankly, any) friends since I moved to Texarkana. Its been very lonely. But I can count on my Wednesday Girls to bring me up and keep me from being a total recluse. Sometime when my story is out in the world, I hope to thank them for helping me feel attached during this time of transition.
Who knows? Maybe they will also help me flush out the Texarkana serial killer story that's also brewing in my head.
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