Two True Things and Nine Years Later

First: It's the last day to vote on my story, Eau de Public Transit, and have your vote counted in August's tally. The top story for the month gets highlighted the next month, so if you liked what I wrote, I'd appreciate a quick vote. Not going to lie: I can use all the publicity I can get.

Second: In a fit of self-doubt, I applied for a job last night. When I told Jer, he said, "Why?" So I laughed and said, "I can't even tell you how much I appreciate your supporting me to stay home and write." He said, "Try."

Dude is funny.

I'm juggling too many invisible projects again and not much tangible is getting done, however I did finish a new draft of a children's story I've been working on for nine years, and will be getting feedback on that soon. It's the only story I've written that's based on a true story and isn't fantastical or horror. After I wrote the first draft years ago, I set it aside because it wasn't quite right. Then I rewrote it last November, got some feedback, learned some more about story structure, changed the tense, the title, and the POV character, added a new (happier) ending, and here we are.

Two fun facts: My story is as old as the main character. And it took me nine years to come up with 1,920 words. Told you I was slow. And freakishly stubborn.

I think it took so long primarily because it was based on truth and I had an awful time distancing myself. It wasn't until I let go of it being true that I found the story. I made the main character a boy, I changed the main conflict to something fictional, and then I merged two other true things to make the story flow. So now I guess it's not exactly true anymore. It's a Frankenstein of truth.

You know. For kids.