I’m currently away from the Internet, celebrating Thanksgiving with family, the best way to celebrate any holiday. Those good feelings prompted me to compose the following free-write in my “Finding Mister Wright” universe:
“Thanks and Giving” [PDF opens in new window]
~9600 words / 38 pages DS
This one concerns family, of course, and cooking, just like I promised. It’s long, so I don’t expect anyone at all to read it. But it was a story of Rob and his mother that had been nagging at me for a while to be written, so I answered the only way I knew how, to write it. Paige is here, and Daniel, too, as well as a few new faces. Some of them are even new to Rob and the rest! There are real if subtle conflicts here between mother and son, father and daughter, brother and sister, that I’ve experienced in one way or another across my many years. As always, the stories help me understand those experiences a little bit better, but hopefully if you read this one, you’ll get some enjoyment out of it, too.
Happy families to you all!
I’m glad you’re getting these bits down, Mayumi. Free writes are really important to keep the ideas flowing and to stay connected to the characters.
Hope you enjoyed Thanksgiving with your family!
If a story is nagging at you to be written, why should it matter how long it is? I enjoy the free writes you post. It inspires me to write stories and put them on my blog. Granted, I haven’t put the stories on my blog; they’re coming soon.
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving with your family.
Thanks, Kate! I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday, as well.
Being with characters is my most favorite part of the writing process. Even though these free writes will never go anywhere beyond my head and this blog, I really enjoy the opportunity to just spend time with them. Looking back on what I’ve written over time helps me see how my style has changed, and how I can punch up my more serious stories. 🙂
Thanks, George! I hope you were able to enjoy a restful and happy Thanksgiving holiday, too. 🙂
Length often deters readers, especially for ordinary life stories like this series. I would balk at a 38-page story on somebody’s site! But, some tales just want to keep going. That’s what I let this one do, for better or worse. Mostly, I think it’s important to let characters speak for themselves. Sometimes, they do that with brevity. Other times, not so much. 😀
You’ll know when you’re ready to share your stories on your blog or elsewhere. For me, posting is just as much a public prompt to keep myself accountable as it is a joy to see a complete story (of sorts) out there for others to inspect and maybe enjoy. Just keep your ears open to your characters and their voices. 🙂
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! It’s so important to step away from the internet and social media and reconnect with the people we love. Hugs!
Spoken like a true writer!
I always enjoy your free writes, too! And it was a treat to meet some of Rob’s family this way. You know I’d love to see a full-blown novel with these characters. 🙂
I hope you liked what you read, JM. 😀 These characters are my feel-goods, so I don’t want to put them through much conflict beyond the mundane bits…but I would love to be able to write something novel-worthy with them, too! Unfortunately, this sort of slice-of-life doesn’t warrant a place on too many shelves. I’m always happy to hear that they resonate at least a bit with others, though. Thanks so much for giving them a chance! <3
While our days were slightly off due to vacations, Thanksgiving remained one of my favorite family get-togethers this year. Hope you had a lovely time, as well!
Thank you for the encouragement and support. I finally got around to reading your story. It was very good. I feel like I know more about the family and how Rob is wired the way he is. I hope readers learn as much about my characters that I write.
I hope you had a good Thanksgiving Mayumi. I always admire how much of a prolific writer you can be, I tend to over-think when I’m writing and I then struggle to get the word count up because I critique myself too much at every word!
You’re very welcome, George! I think it’s important for creators of all kinds to have encouragement and support, since it can be rare.
Thanks for reading the story! I love these characters a lot, so it is always great to hear that the stories I write help others understand and hear them a bit better, too. 🙂 I’m sure you will find that the more you write your own characters, the more their voices will come out in your stories, and the more they’ll resonate with other people.
Thanks, Vanessa! It’s always a good time when we get to take a break from the office and kick back with family and good food, holiday or no. 🙂
I’m trying my best to get through those first million words, so I can finally start writing stories people will actually want to read! That thinking about words makes your writing more polished than mine, even on a first draft or blog post, while I have to agonize during revisions. So, the time and frustration probably equals out, in the end. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!