Category Archives: Writing

Just Press Send

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book-coverWorking on my book definitely has its ups and downs.  I was really on a roll for a while.  Cycling stories were accumulating quickly, and it felt like good progress.  I could whip out a vignette each time I sat down, and I thoroughly enjoyed reliving each one of those days of cycling.  But I couldn’t see where it was going.

Time out for research.  Time to do a little studying up on what makes a good memoir.  What makes a compelling read.  How others before me have done it.  Then back to writing.  Progress feels slower now, but somewhat more focused.  Or that’s what I tell myself.

There is no doubt this is a long haul project.  So I have decided on some shorter term goals.  I am aiming to submit a story to a magazine each month, preferably one of my finished chapters.  The idea is not a new concept.  Even before I started my book, I envisioned targeting new publications and pitching my work.  But I always chickened out in the face of writing that query letter.  The process was intimidating.  The odds felt daunting.  The one time I did follow through, I received a prompt rejection.  It wasn’t that failure that stopped me from trying again – the editor was kind enough to point out how I had missed the mark on the magazine’s audience.  And he was right.  He did me a favor in guiding my future submissions.  I just couldn’t get up the gumption to put in the effort again.

But today I gave it another try.  I found a cycling magazine that looked like a good fit, read dozens of stories from prior issues and cooked up two ideas that I thought would intrigue their readers.  A short email exchange with the editor was encouraging so on the strength of that I went into action.  I pulled together summaries of my proposed stories and compiled samples of photographs, maps and writing experience.

Naturally, all this took time away from actually writing my book.  I’m not sure if this was actually a diversionary tactic or productive work.  Time will tell if it is rewarding or discouraging.  Helpful or just a detour.  It’s all a big learning curve to me.  For now, I can still hope.  I just pressed Send.

 

The Year of my Book

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It’s been rumbling around in my head for some time now.  Having progressed from blog to magazine stories, might the next step be to write a book?  There is no denying it is the ultimate writing accomplishment.  And I rarely begin something without going all the way.  This would be the marathon of writing.

Through the course of several memoir writing classes and workshops, I’ve pondered several topics.  It was only last fall that the idea crystallized.  And suddenly it was so obvious.  I would write about our cycling trips.  Between my blog posts, detailed journals, photographs and Rich’s trip reports I have a wealth of material.  My passion for the adventures will fill in the rest.

Feeling a bit timid about the idea, not to mention being a complete novice, I hesitated to mention it to anyone much less start the project.  So I set my sights on a writing retreat.  I would be spending Thanksgiving week with my son Carl and his wife Chelsea in Milwaukee.  With three full days to myself while they were at work, I had the perfect opportunity to dedicate myself to writing.

Sinclair Lewis tableCarl was the one who delivered the ultimate push.  He reminded me that their dining room table, which he inherited from his Grandpa Hoeg, once belonged to Sinclair Lewis.  What better place to begin my writing?  That did it.  I assembled my resources and notes online in preparation for the trip.  In the quiet household, I brewed myself a big mug of hot coffee.  I fired up my laptop and sat down at the famed table.  And began.

Molly and Rich near PerceBy the end of my three days, I had several short chapters written.  I could feel this book.  I knew my intended audience, and what I wanted to give them.  In my collection of stories, I will convey the good, the bad, the ugly and the funny about our version of cycle touring.  It should satisfy the curious.  Inform the wanna-be’s.  And entertain those with a travel bug.  For now it will be known as America at 12 Miles an Hour.

Clearly I have a long way to go.  A lot more writing to do.  A ton of learning, editing and selling. Even just admitting my goals here makes me feel vulnerable.  But if I don’t give it a try, I’ll never know if I can do it.  So far, I’m enjoying the challenge and reliving all the memories from the 10,000 miles Rich and I have toured via bicycle.

If my blog posts are sparse, now you know why.  My writing is focused elsewhere.  No matter what ultimately becomes of it, 2017 is the year of my book.