Dear Reader,

I am an avid fan of the television show The West Wing. It is a political dramedy about the goings on of the White House. Even though it is really interesting to see how the President's job is carried out, what is more interesting is the jobs of his staff. The show revolves around the Chief of Staff, Press Secretary, Deputy Chief of Staff, Communications Director, and Deputy Communications Director, the last of whom is played by Rob Lowe. At about the half way point in the series, Rob Lowe ended up moving to a different television show (I am still bitter). In the story line, he ended up becoming a congressman in California, and they brought in a campaign manager to be the new deputy.

I am telling you all of this because it got me thinking about a couple of things as they pertain to writing. First is that I have always loved television more than movies, but I have been especially curious about when, how, and why some characters' story lines end. Are they tired of working on the same show and want a change? If their character died, did the actor die (which also happened on The West Wing)? Was the money not good enough? Or did the writers simply decide that this character's story arc was at an end? It makes me think about my own writing. I have a couple of series in the works right now, and each one revolves around a core set of characters. Will I know when one character's story is over? Will I be able to bring myself to end a story arc for a character? Will readers resent me if I drop a character they grew to care about and possibly even love? In the case of The West Wing, Lowe's character, Sam Seaborn, was delightful, charming, funny, and brought a lot to the show, so I find it hard to believe that he was written out of the script to end his arc. At the same time, The West Wing was a very important show, one that not only earned awards, but deserved them as well, so I can't bring myself to believe that Lowe would leave a show like that for one like Parks & Recreation, the show he ended up on. Yet I know it had to be one of those two choices. The thing is, even though his replacement, Joshua Melina who ended up playing a character named Will Bailey, was nothing like Lowe's character, the writers did a good job of transitioning from one character arc to another, something that must have been difficult, something I am not sure I could do.

The other thing this got me thinking of was the introduction of Will Bailey. It takes some convincing to get Toby Ziegler, the Communications Director, to even consider Will for the job. At one point, Toby finally tells Will to write a 500 word essay on American leadership. When Will returns with his "assignment," Toby hands over the same assignment from his own hand. I really enjoy writing. Sometimes I need the solitude, but this helped me to remember that even writing can be collaborative. Toby, half way through reading the Will's essay, tells Will to stop reading his. He recognizes that Will is a great writer, and he recognizes it because of his own writing. As Will points out, Toby is not a bad writer, he was just in a slump. Toby had been worrying for days, trying to put out his best, thinking he was no longer any good, and Will came along and helped him realize that he was just exhausted. As a writer, I realize that is something I need. Sharing drafts with others is about receiving constructive criticism, but it is also about receiving support. This is the kind of support writer's need. Perhaps if I had this kind of support, I would know when it is time to let a character go, even if I was thoroughly attached to said character. This is something I will be chewing on for some time. Perhaps it is time for me to try to find that support. Anyway, that's all for now. Until next time, Reader.

Speak freely. Write candidly. Read endlessly.

Dear Reader,

After looking back on all of my posts, I realize that I talked a lot about reading, but not much about writing. This is, after all, a blog about reading AND writing. So, without further ado, here it goes:\

I recently graduated from college with a four-year degree in secondary education to teach High School English. I have spent the last four months teaching, and while it has had its fair share of ups, I realize now that what I really want to teach is writing. Not academic writing, though I admit it does have a place in my repertoire. I want to teach creative writing. Before studying education for four years, I spent three years pursuing a degree in professional writing. Before that, I took a three-year creative writing course in high school. I am 30. I have been writing for a while.

But even though I have been writing for half of my life, I have never had a story published. Is it because I'm a bad writer? Is it because people don't want to read what I have to write? Have I been constantly rejected? No, no, and no. The truth is that I haven't put as much effort into it as I should have. I can say that life got in the way (which it did) or that I was busy in school (which I was), but the fact remains that I have been lazy.

There was an author, I don't remember his name, who once said that he writes novels because he doesn't have time to write short stories. The fact of the matter is that writing takes time. Not everybody can be Stephen King and bust out two novels a year. However, even Stephen King would probably say that writing takes time. First, you need an idea, which is the second hardest part of the writing process. This is immediately followed by the hardest part, getting started. That blank sheet of paper or blank computer screen is a constant reminder to writers that they have done nothing, that they are failures.

Once the first words are written, writers can breathe a little, but their jobs are not yet done. They have to fight the impulse to edit as they write. If you are constantly editing as you go, you are not likely to get past the third page. Your manuscript will never be perfect. Once you are finished with the whole thing, feel free to edit, but not before. This may be difficult, but one thing you should remember as you write is the advice of author Anne Lamott in her book about writing titled Bird by Bird: Write shitty first drafts. Just throw up on the page now and clean it up later.

I am forcing myself to do some more writing, so hopefully I will be on here more. Until then, Reader:

Speak freely. Write candidly. Read endlessly.