Where does the time go to?

Hi all,

I don't know about any of you, but I think time flies by so quickly.  I don't seem to have enough time to do the things I would like to do anymore.  It's not because I run around a lot, because I don't.  I just can't figure it out.  Do you  have any ideas?

I did go to Ocean City with three of my lady friends last Thursday, and returned on Sunday.  But even down there, the time sped by so quickly and we didn't do much of anything.  The weather really wasn't very nice, but it was nice to just be able to see the ocean and God's magnificent sky.  Although at times, it was so foggy that we couldn't even see where the ocean ended and the sky began.  I'm not complaining because I had a very nice time and enjoyed my time with my friends.  I am thankful to God for giving us an safe and pleasant time together. 

I entered a story into a contest a few weeks ago and I was considering writing another one to enter, also.  You can enter up to three stories.  I simply haven't had the time to even start another one.  I need to get down to business and get started, but I also feel I have to keep up with my blog.  It's so important to me, and I just need to make the time to write two new pages a week.  I will make the effort to try.

What have all of you been up to lately?  I hope you have found time to be creative, in one form or another.  There are so many ways to express our creativity.  We just don't realize all of them.  Have you ever had any desire to write?  If so, you really should take some classes first.  There are so many guide lines for writing the correctly acceptable way. 

I took my first writing course many years ago.  It was a home correspondence course with The Children's Institute of Literature.  That was a beginners course.  It took me the best part of a year to complete that one.  After completion, I took an advanced course, which was a bit harder, but I learned so much about the correct forms of writing.  It was during that course that I started my first hard-bound novel for children.  I loved every minute of it and when it was complete, I finished my novel and, actually, published most of it myself, with a little help from my daughters.  I had a lot of help from my employer at the time.  He allowed me to use his equipment to sew the signatures together, to glue all the book pages together and to make the covers and put them on the pages.  He cut the books for me, as that antique machine scared me to death.  I thought I'd cut my fingers off while trying to slice the pages to size.  I will always be grateful to him for all his help.  My three daughters helped me with the covers and I hope it gave them a new appreciation for books, just as it did me.  I never looked at a hard-bound book the same, again.  There is so much that goes into publishing a book.

Have you ever considered taking some courses on writing?  Actually, those are just the first steps in having a novel published, whether it's non-fiction or fiction.  After you've written it, then comes the step of proofing it and making sure it's laid out properly.  Then, the publisher will only accept certain formats and you may have to reformat your manuscript before you can download it to their website.  Also, if you try to sell it electronically, they also only accept specific formats.  I'm sure for all you younger folks, who are very familiar with today's electronic gadgets, that wouldn't be much of a problem.  But, for us older folks, it is one big headache, to say the least.  But, I've learned a few tricks over the years I've been writing.  I suppose you can teach an old dog new tricks, after all.

You can check out my last novel, "Prolonged Uncertainties," on it's page here on my blog.  It is a novel about a twenty year old cold case.  I truly enjoyed writing this one, because I stepped out of my comfort zone when I chose to write this type of novel.  If you check it out at Amazon.com, you see it has a different cover.

Whatever you choose to do in the creative line, don't be discouraged!  It truly doesn't matter if everything is perfect or not.  Just do the best you can and don't be discouraged.  I'm almost 68 years, and I refuse to give up because of my age.  I will try anything new that I'd like to try.  It may not be perfect, but it doesn't have to be perfect.  It just needs to be done the best you can.  That's all that truly matters.  Of course, you will need to take some courses first though.  I don't care about making money from my novels and booklets, I just want to make one person smile or learn something new about their health and more importantly, to help them to know that the only person they can truly depend  upon is God. 

Check out my other pages here on my blog.  All of my books and booklets are available on Amazon.com.  I believe there are about 18 of them now.  Don't give up no matter what your circumstances are.  Determination always finds a way!  Good luck!
Susan