Labotomy of a Writer

A few of the characters from my novel "The Faery's Tale" told me I had them portrayed ALL WRONG! (Notice I said a few, not just one -- a grande total of SIX!) So - I have had to practically start all over! Which is fine, the story is coming out a lot smoother and with more 'oomph' to it. I have no complaints - really.

Okay I do, but not because the story is coming out better. The worst part for me is having to delete GREAT scenes because they no longer work with the character personalitites. *sigh* Another thing is realizing that scenes I took out during the last revision (or the one before) work great and so they need to be edited and added back in!

The funniest part is that now that the characters are written the way they should be - the words flow onto the paper SO much easier. The first draft was HELL to write and now I see why! I've discovered it's important to do what you characters say - not what you think will sound good. I know I sound completely insane, but I'm being serious.

If the character first shows up in your head as being a goodie-two-shoes that discovers it's fun to be bad sometimes? LET HER DO IT! (I'm talking about my character, Letarri by the way). I of course did not do this the first go around and I paid for it dearly!

Here is an example of what I am talking about - this will also give you a clear indication of how my writing style has changed in five years (Yea I started this that long ago, quite writing for a long time, etc etc. I might tell the story later).

The followings scenes are with Princess Letarri and Prince Etharas Tryalis. He drinks quite a bit. The scene takes place in a tavern. Take a look at the difference in Letarri's character. (You can see that Etharas isn't really the same either - he's another one that told me I had it all wrong.) Keep in mind, the first draft scene, no matter how you look it, is HORRIBLY written!

First Draft Scene: (Exerpt from Chapter 7)

**The scene: Letarri is visiting Etharas's kingdom of Finnat (she's from Achatar). They head to the tavern with Etahras's cousin Echry for a few drinks before Etharas and Letarri have to leave on their journey**

“To the Kingdom of Finnat!” Echry said as a toast. Letarri toasted with her water without showing any sign of disgust. Etharas toasted and took a big gulp of his drink. It burned as it went down his throat but in a way it was comforting. Since last night, memories of his Mother had been running through his mind. Now he might have a chance to stop thinking about it.

Keltara, one of the barmaids, came up to the bar.

“How’re ya fella's doin’?” she asked.

“We’re doing great Kel. How are you?”

“As good as can be expected. I’m about sick of this place though. Too many drunks wantin’ to unite to me.” She rolled her eyes and walked towards the kitchen. She paused when she noticed Letarri.

"What happened to your clothes?" she asked.

"A cleaning accident," Letarri replied.

"Well, we can't have ya walkin' 'round like that. People might think you're from Achatar. Come on, I'll give you one of my old ones, that don't fit no more."

Letarri looked at Etharas and he nodded. Trusting in Ethara's trust of Keltara, Letarri followed the faery to the back of the tavern.

“I can understand why males would want to unit to her. She is beautiful,” Echry said.

“Your parents would kill you if you got involved with her,” Etharas said.

“True, but she’s still beautiful. Don’t you think so?”

Etharas only nodded. He finished his glass and ordered another. Echry had barely touched his drink.

Echry kept talking about Keltara while Etharas kept drinking. Letarri returned wearing a black dress and silently sat back down. She stayed silent not wanting to make Echry more suspicious about her than he already was. By the time Echry had finished his first glass, Etharas had finished six.

“What’s wrong with you? I’ve never seen you drink like this,” Echry finally said.

“I’m trying to forget my Mother,” Etharas said before he finished his seventh drink. He ordered another but this time a Facilis. It was stronger liquor than Caderis. This made Echry very nervous.

“Etharas, I think that’s enough. You can’t handle this much alcohol,” Echry said.

“Who are you to tell me what to do?” Etharas snapped.

Echry finished his second drink. He wished he could figure out what was wrong with his cousin. He was always the tough one. Etharas did not even cry when his Mother died. At least no one saw him. Echry looked to Letarri for help but she seemed just as lost as he did.

“She was so beautiful,” Etharas said dreamily. “You remember? She was so kind and compassionate. Why would anyone kill her? I wish I knew where they were. If I ever found out who did that to her, I’d kill them,” Etharas pounded his fist on the bar. Gilgaris took that as a signal for another drink.

Etharas drank it in one gulp and slammed the glass back down. Neither Echry nor Letarri knew what to do.

Letarri sat staring in amazement and worry. She felt sorry for Etharas but did not understand his need to drink so heavily. She never had the urge to drink away her Father’s memory. Yes, it did hurt her to think of him dead but she always tried to stay positive. She remembered what he was like instead of trying to forget him. She wished she could help Etharas but she did not know how. He was trying to deal with his pain in a way she did not understand. She felt the only thing she could do was to stay quiet and listen.

“When I was a child, my mother used to sing to me. She’d sit there for hours on end singing until I was asleep or until my tears stopped. She had the most beautiful voice.” Etharas’s voice broke and he ordered another drink.

Echry and Letarri could only listen. They did not know what else to do. Etharas was too drunk to listen to advice and too sad to laugh at a joke.

“I’m never going to get united. I wouldn’t want my heart broken like my Father’s. He walks around the castle in a daze. The idiot. If he’d never fallen in love in the first place.”

“Yes but if he hadn’t been with your Mother, you wouldn’t be here either.”

“Oh shut up Echry. What do you know? You still have your Mother.”

Echry was stung by Etharas’s words. He had known Etharas since they were young children. Echry felt the loss as well though he knew not in the way Etharas did. Playing with each other as children, both their Mother’s became important parts of their lives. Etharas was as close to Echry’s mother as Echry was to his. Echry could not understand Etharas’s pain though. Etharas was right; Echry still had his own Mother. Just as Letarri felt, Echry could not understand why Etharas would choose to drink his Mother’s memory away.

Etharas was starting to feel sick. The room was spinning, making him feel dizzy. In the next second, he fell off the barstool. The world was starting to fade and the last thing he saw before it disappeared was Echry trying to catch him.

Newest Scene: (Excerpt from Chapter 6)

**The Scene: In a tavern in Lastor, Nenal - a stopping point on their journey. Prince Cadmus Hykartis from Cydian joins the fun this time. I didn't put the entire scene this time, skipping to the important points.**

Letarri paused at the base of the stairs. She peered through the smoke at the patrons as they drank ale from large mugs, laughed or even yelled at each other.

She was not sure why she decided to come down stairs. She tried to convince herself that it was not the handsome Prince Tryalis. When her heart skipped a beat as her eyes landed on him, she knew her excuse was weak.

He sat at the bar with Prince Hykartis. They laughed with the bartender and the barmaids, completely relaxed. She wondered how two princes could fit into a tavern crowd so easily. They looked comfortable in the element as they joked with other patrons.

Letarri took a deep breath and forced herself to relax. She glided across the wood floor, cringing as she stepped on food, spilled ale, and who knew what else. She sat on a barstool next to Prince Hykartis. They turned to look at her with puzzled faces.

She smiled nervously at them but her mouth would not form any words.

“What’ll be little lady?” the bartender asked in a gruff voice. A cigar hung out of his mouth, puffing smoke into Letarri’s face.

“I’ll have whatever they’re having.” She motioned to her two traveling companions. The bartender stared at her in shock. “Please?” she added nervously.

The bartender continued to stare at her as he poured a golden liquid into a tiny glass. He set it in front of her then stepped back. Letarri picked up the glass and looked to the two princes.

Prince Tryalis put his glass to his lips, titled his head back, and swallowed the drink in one gulp. With all eyes on her, Letarri repeated the action.

She coughed and choked as the liquid burned her throat. The faeries around her laughed but she failed to see the joke.

“Feels good doesn’t it?” Prince Tryalis said.

Letarri smiled. “In an odd sort of way.”

“It hurts so good!” Prince Hykartis laughed.

“Prince Try…”

“Wait. Call me Etharas in a place like this,” he said looking around.

Prince Hykartis nodded with a serious look on his face.

“Etharas.” She licked her lips, tasting his name. She was not used to addressing royalty so informally. It was exciting to not follow the rules for once. She wondered if Rosyani ever felt this way when she would sneak out of the castle.

“Now what happens?” she asked.

“We have another drink! Shots over here!” Cadmus called. One of the barmaids poured them each another glass.

“Here we go.” Etharas raised his glass in the air with Cadmus and Letarri following suit. “To us and this insane journey that has been thrust upon us.”

They clinked their glasses together then poured the drinks down their throats. Letarri coughed once and quickly recovered. Etharas and Cadmus cheered.

“What is this stuff anyway?”

“Caderis. A strong liquor,” Cadmus explained.

“Strong? But I don’t feel any different.”

Etharas laughed. “You will. Just wait. You’ve never drank before have you?”

She shook her head. “Just a few glasses of wine at weddings and such.”

Cadmus chuckled and elbowed Etharas in the side. “Oh, this will be interesting.”

--------Skip---------

“This country is amazing! Love the manner of dress,” Etharas said watching the barmaids walk about the tavern. Letarri looked too, taking in all the green skin that showed.

Letarri knew that the pattern of beads in the females’ hair stood for something but she could not remember exactly what. Their dresses looked like something she would only wear for her husband in the privacy of their bedroom. A tight fitting band covered their breasts and not much else. Some of the females had strings of beads hanging down from the band to cover their stomachs while others had sleeves or straps. The skirts were merely a band around the waist with four wide strips of fabric handing down to their ankles. Every inch of their leg showed when they walked. Letarri noticed that many of them purposefully would show their legs while they stood or sat, talking to the patrons.

“Oh yea, it’s a beautiful thing,” Cadmus added.

“Hey that’s not…” Letarri suddenly felt like an explosion had went off in her stomach. Warmth pooled then spread throughout her entire body. Her skin tingled causing a sloppy smile to cross her face. Her arms felt heavy and sluggish and her brain slowed to a crawl. Is this what they meant?

“That’s not what?” Cadmus chuckled, elbowing Etharas.

“Umm...that’s not…fair. I think.”

They laughed and put a hand to their sides as if they ached.

“Not fair? You don’t like the males’ dress here?” Etharas smiled.

Letarri scanned the room again. All the males were shirtless, wearing only tights and a loin cloth.
“That’s not the point!” Her gaze continued around the room while her companions laughed. Her sight landed on a hairy, fat male. His stomach hung over his waist band. He belched then scratched himself. “Ew! No, it’s not fair!”

Cadmus and Etharas continued to laugh, gasping for breath.

“Good thing we don’t dress like that uh?”

“Why not? Scared to?” Letarri giggled.

Etharas’s eyebrows shot up. “Me? Scared? Look it here little lady. I am not scare of anything.”

Letarri leaned forward, using the bar for support. “Then I dare you to travel all day tomorrow wearing..um..what they do.” She hiccupped.

“Oh! A challenge!”

“If I have to, then so do you!” he countered.

“Deal!” Letarri reached her hand across Cadmus to shake hands. Etharas smiled wickedly and spit into his hand before reaching out to take hers. She snatched her hand away before he could grab it. She stared at him for a few moments in disgust before she spat into her own hand. “Cadmus is our witness.”

A small voice in the back of her head said she was making a big mistake. Over the noise of the tavern and the fog in brain, she barely noticed it. She was having fun and did not want logic to ruin it.

--------Skip---------

Etharas’s side hurt from laughing so much. He had not had fun like that in many years. His hands shook from the adrenaline rush that he got from it.

He kept his eye on the door looking for Letarri. She was so naive and innocent. He could not help but want to dirty her up just a little bit. Her hair was perfect every time he saw her. His fingers itched to muss it up.

Her eyes were really what caught his attention. They sparkled with a hidden secret. Her eyes missed nothing that went on around her, taking in every detail. He wondered what she thought about when she looked at him. That sparkle in her eye hid her thoughts though. He might just have to cheat and use his telepathic power to read her mind.

He smiled mischievously. He would definitely have to cheat and he would have so much fun doing it.

Do you see the amazing difference!? The best part is, since I didn't give away the whole thing about Etharas' mother in the same scene, I can put in another scene later on! And as you can see, it just READS so much better! I mean the flow, the structure - oh my gosh. Seriously, I cringe everytime I read that first draft!

My advice for the day - LISTEN TO YOUR CHARACTERS! They are usually always right!

I have gotten my first award for this blog! Thank you SO much Jay ! This brightened my day - it was hard and stressful as my son is sick so this really made me smile!




The Rules for this Award

1. Thank the person who gave this to you.
2. Copy and Paste the award on my blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you.
4. Tell up to 6 lies and 1 truth about myself.
5. Tag at least 7 people for this award.
6. Post links to their blogs.
7. Comment on each of their blogs to inform them of the nomination.

My Statements

Okay I switched this so, it's 6 truths and 1 lie - and you have to spot the lie! (I'll post the correct answer in another blog post in a few days)

1. I have five tatoos and want more.
2. I was stabbed in the chest during a fight.
3. I used to own a semi-automatic rifle.
4. I listen to the Backstreet Boys.
5. I have two kids, not twins, that have the same birthday.
6. I was a cheerleader in high school.
7. I have been married two times.

The Tags

Okay here we go - 7 folks that get this award, although I'm sure they already have it at least once!

1. Anne Riley
2. Kurt Chambers
3. Annie McMahon
4. J.D. Brown
5. Ashelynn D. Sanford
6. Dawn Embers
7. Tamara Hart Heiner

I told myself that when I started this blog I was not going to do interviews since so many other blogs did them. However, I could not help but to talk about this guy!

I met Greg when he enrolled as a student in the Novel class at The Writer's Academy. He has been a wonderful student! He is an amazing writer and I often wonder why he enrolled as I don't feel I provided much help. I'm honored to have met such a great writer and person.

Let me thank you, Anastasia, for inviting me to do this. As a journalist, I’m not used to being on the receiving end of an interview.

It's my pleasure Greg. Why don't you tell us a little about yourself.

I was born in Somerville, Massachusetts and raised in historic Medford, Massachusetts (unofficially the 7th oldest town in America; you may also remember it from “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere”). I moved to Euless, Texas in 1982, got my B.A. in Journalism from Prairie View A&M University; got commissioned in the U.S. Navy; served in Japan aboard 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19); fought Saddam in Desert Shield/Desert Storm (not physically but against Exocet missiles, mines and SCUDs), and worked some odd jobs when I got out of the Navy.

Eventually, I got back into journalism with JDTV, Inc., a magazine company as a sports editor. I then moved over to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram as a sports writer/copy editor/agate supervisor/feature writer. Since then, I’ve taught Hazardous Materials & Dangerous Goods training for American Airlines and currently cover Black College Sports for Examiner.com on a freelance basis.

Sounds like you've had lots of adventures! I know you're a sports writer but what made you decide to become a fiction writer?

Three words – “Creature Double Feature.” It was an anthology series on WLVI-56 in Boston back in the late 70s, that showed old grade B (and Z) sci-fi and horror flicks. My mother used to hate (still does, in fact) but my twin brother and I would not miss the show for the world. We’d stop playing outside to come in and watch it and my mother resigned herself to finding alternative entertainment for three hours ever Saturday.

As I got older, I realized how truly bad and cheesy those movies and I began working on creating better stories. And from what I’ve seen of the “original” movies on SyFy Channel, my work is far from finished.

Yes, I'm usually dissapointed by what the SyFy channel puts on sometimes. It's great that you're out there trying to write great Science Fiction. So, who gives you a bit of inspiration to write?

My original influences were Robert Heinlein, Lester Del Rey, Arthur C. Clarke and the writers of the Golden Age of Science Fiction – guys like Theodore Sturgeon (“Killdozer”) and A.E. Van Vogt and Edgar Rice Burroughs. I remember walking to the library in West Medford Square for their books and then, walking five miles to the main Medford library for even more books. In fact, I was lost almost half a day in the Sue Kellogg Library in Stone Mountain, Georgia where I live now.

Later, I began to add some influences, especially when I finally noticed that, in the future many science fiction books and movies were set in, there didn’t seem to be too many black people. So, I began to read Octavia Butler (“Lilith’s Brood,” “Xenogenesis”), Samuel Delaney (“Triton,” “Dahlgren”), Kim Stanley Robinson (“Red Mars,” “Green Mars”) and Steven Barnes (“Dream Park”).

My best find was a trio of old science fiction classics called “Black No More,” “Black Empire” and “Black Internationale” by legendary black journalism pioneer George Schuyler. Turns out he’s a distant relative of mine. So, his books are in my collection.

You seem to have some strong influences, which is good for any artist! Now, I know that you are published through sports writing, short story publications, and a few novels. How has life changed since you've been published?

Being published has given me a big lift. I feel the successful culmination of a lot of hard work. At the very least, I can go to high school reunions and National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) conventions as a published author.

Publishing books is only recent. My first published articles came from journalism. Having a byline, whether it was in a cable TV magazine for interviewing Arnold Palmer, online with boxer Larry Holmes or in the newspaper for covering a high school baseball game, I felt a certain amount of success and satisfaction. I mean, honestly, while science fiction is a specific genre for specific people, almost everybody likes sports.

My husband is so jealous that you interviewed Arnold Palmer by the way! Let's talk a bit about your writing specifically. How long does it take for you to write a novel and what's your schedule like for writing?

I have no firm timetable. Some writers like Stephen King have a set schedule – so many hours a day, so many days a week. Laurell K. Hamilton actually writes multiple books a day – for her Anita Blake and Meredith Gentry series. And don’t get me started on John Ringo and David Weber; those two are ridiculous with multiple projects.

The difference between them and me is – they have contracts. Editors and publishers are eagerly awaiting their books. Me? They don’t know me from the Gregory Smith who starred in Everwood (except that guy’s skin is a little lighter).

I try to write for at least an hour a day (on advice from Stephen King). But, it depends on how much writing I’ve already done, since I also do freelance sports. For example, now that college basketball tournament season is here, I tend to get a little burned out. So, I haven’t written any fiction for the last few days.

Writing for an hour everyday is a great exercise. I try to get two hours in but somedays it doesn't always work out like that! Do you character plot or have a detailed outline before you start writing or do you write on the fly?

I write fiction like I do sports – on the fly. I flesh out a beginning, middle and end in my mind, which leads to me tweaking everything fifty times. In school, I would write an “A-plus” essay or theme paper and then sheepishly go back to my desk to do the outline.

Alas, though, that approach has gotten me in trouble sometimes. There have been times when I’ve forgotten my characters’ names or where they were introduced in the book. With Land of the Blind, as you’ve seen, I had to add a list of characters for the readers (and, more importantly, for myself since I’d misplaced my original).

One thing I do plan, though, is research. I want to be like Michael Crichton and Tom Clancy and actually sound like I know what I’m writing about. Yeah, the technical stuff might have been boring in Crichton’s Andromeda Strain, but it was essential to understanding the story. I read J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and I’m still fascinated about how he created Middle Earth and got everything to mesh together so fantastically well. George Lucas only wishes he could have done as well with the Star Wars settings.

Amazingly, despite so many years writing, I’ve only just recently concentrated heavily on character development. I had primarily written short stories and felt I didn’t need to go so in-depth with development but the novels, well, they’ve proven a different beast altogether. Cantrell Ryker and Lin Tang in Hunters; Pegram Kimble, Mia Tran and Cayce Colvin in Slow Boat to China, and Anna Velasquez, Kober Chiang and Devereaux Marshall Fox in Land of the Blind have all shown a great need for deep characterization.

I'm the same way, Greg. I write on the fly and then find out later that I probably should have had an ouline to help me when I got stuck! Since you have a few works out there in the process of being written, do you have a critique group, editor, or do you self edit?

Self-edit mostly. I joined Writing.com in 2007 and have been letting the members critique my stuff. I’ve gotten some good suggestions, too, for improvement. Recently, I joined Harley Palmer’s Writing Academy and she’s been instrumental in boosting my confidence (Sometimes, I swear she’s two different people, though).

In the past month, I’ve also joined sites like Goodreads and Authonomy to try to get some more critiques.

Aww thanks for the compliment! I am glad I could help! And yes, I can be two different people sometimes - but I think all writers have a bit of split personality to them. You write in so many areas, what's the hardest part of writing that you've struggled with?

Character development. It’s hard coming up with new characters, especially the way I write. Though I can write a scenario featuring only a small cast of characters such as in my novella They Call the Wind Muryah, I tend to use a lot of people in most of my works. I try to think of how such a scenario would work in the real world. For instance, if giant spiders took over a town, like in my novella Crawl, wouldn’t the world – in this day of the Internet and 24 hours news coverage and camera phones – find out quick and, if they did, wouldn’t they send in the military? Or how can Devereaux Marshall Fox be the world’s most dangerous and hunted man without the whole world being involved?

Maybe I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.

Each character needs his or her own personality. One thing I tend to do is create a preliminary character list and then pretend it’s being made into a movie. I then try to think of the actors and actresses or friends or relatives who would be good for the role. Then, I create an amalgam of those people. Interestingly, a lot of celebs I crushed on as a kid creep into my characters – Lynda Carter, Lola Folana, Jayne Kennedy, Lindsay Wagner, Kristy McNichol, Tatum O’Neal, Nichelle Nichols, Kate Jackson, Etsuko Shihoma, Michelle Yeoh, Raquel Welch, etc.

On the other hand, physical characteristics for them give me fits. You can’t make them match too closely with real people, especially if they’re going to be bad guys or morons. The one exception is me. I use a lot of myself in my novels. You might notice someday that Marshall Fox and I have the same birth date, we both grew up in Medford and we both went to Prairie View A&M. You might also see that Cantrell Ryker’s humor is a lot like mine (though a lot of people might be asking “What humor?”).

You might also notice that the cities I live in feature prominently in my work. Hunters is set in Fort Worth, Texas, where I was living when I started writing it. Land of the Blind mentions Medford and Fort Worth. A sequel to Hunters will be set in Atlanta. Other items mention Yokosuka, Japan and San Diego, California.

Thank you SO much Greg for taking the time to answer my questions! It has been fun getting to know you a little bit more!

You all can find Greg:

Professionally -- Examiner.com under Black College Sports.

Fiction -- Smashwords (look for Gregory Marshall Smith)
Writing.com
Wicked Writers

Personal -- Facebook
Myspace
LinkedIn

Have any other writer, besides myself had this situation happen to them? I sure hope so.

I have 7 different novels, all in different stages of writing/revising. Last year I decided it was time to really focus on ONE novel and get it ready for querying this year. Sounds like a smart plan doesn't it? Well for me, apparantly it wasn't.

Something has happened to me, either 1-I chose the wrong story to focus on at the moment or 2-my muse does not like the idea of working on only one story at a time. I thought about this for the last week or so and tried to work on a different novel. It worked for a day or two then the muse went away again and starting thinking about something else.

So what am I to do? How can I get my mind to focus on one thing at a time? I'm not used to opperating like that! However, I feel it is a skill that I need to learn if I am going to make it in this writing world.

My brain suddenly (seriously just now) had the thought that I could continue the way I have been with my writing - skipping to whichever novel my muse wanted to work on that day, and then have plenty of novels to choose from when they were ready to send out into the world. ..... Yea I'll let you think about that one for a second too. .....

So what am I to do? Because I know when NaNo comes around in December, I'll punch out novel number 8!!! Why? I honestly couldn't tell you. My brain has some serious issues and my muse likes to exploit the fact that my brain is off kilter a bit.

I thought starting this blog would appease my brain for the need or want to skip around. Apparantly not!

Any advice from my fellow writers? Should I continue writing the way I always have (skipping around as it suited my muse) or should I try to force myself to learn to write a different way? A part of me doesn't think it's a good idea to "force" my writing into a new way - forcing writing to me seems to make the story lose something along the way. So why don't I just stick to doing it the way I always did? Well, I'm starting to think that I'll never get anything published if I do. I mean who else has SEVEN UNFINISHED novels?

*sigh* Frankly, I think I bit off more than I could chew this year and I just don't know how to fix it or make it better. Have any other writers been in this same predicament? How did you get out it? What did you decide and why?

Okay here is the winner (and only submission) to Deleted Scenes Week!

Mia wrote an adorable "interview" between two of her characters. (Okay, no, it wasn't actually a deleted scene but it was the only thing submitted people!)

You really should go read it on her blog Literary Jam and Tost : Aspiring Writer to Published Novelist. (I just love the name of her blog, by the way!)

Congratulations Mia!! As the winner, I will be glad to review the manuscript for your novel! Simply attach the word document in an email to me and I'll get started!

I'll be having another little contest like this one soon everyone, so keep watching!

Tomorrow morning I am going to talk to the Columbus Chamber of Commerce about starting my business. I am really excited! My wonderful husband is a business guru so he is going with me to make sure all the right questions get asked. (He's so sweet sometimes!)

They have this great thing, a "One Stop Shop" with lawyers, tax representatives, and other business 'helpers' there on hand to talk to - FOR FREE - about starting a business.

Hopefully, they'll clue me in on the best (and perhaps cheapest) way to pull this off. I will do it regardless, it's just a matter of when. The more cost it is, the longer it will take. So hopefully, I'll get in on a great 'deal' so to speak to get this up and running sooner!

I am really excited and nervous - but I am so glad this opportunity is there. Columbus is really good about supporting small businesses, so it's no surprise really that this program is there. I am just so lucky that I found it! I just happen to call the Chamber of Commerce and a wonderful woman told me about it. I never would have known if I hadn't picked up the phone!

So - to all my fellow authors, business people, and dreamers - pick up the phone!! You never what they will say on the other end!

**Originally posted on my other blog "Abyss of My Soul"**