25 May 2014
Graduation. The last cigar. The final countdown. The end of the line.
Now what?
Rewind a bit.
Several years ago, before this whole “college thing,” I had an idea for a publication. Something to intrigue. However, I felt that it was not the right time to move forward. So I put my many notes on the shelf, so to speak.
About a year prior to graduation, someone in the Christian apologetics community posted a link on Facebook to something called the Aikman Opportunity Award. This award would be given to a contest winner who had a book idea worth selling.
The criteria of the content of the book got me thinking. Wait a second, I have a story to share like that!
Out of the almost 90 entries to the contest, I did not win. But the challenge did give me a chance to practice my magazine writing skills again, as well as to get some story clarifications.
The cat was out of the bag. Schrödinger’s cat was alive and well.
Slowly, I was telling more people about my book plans.
An inspiring real story set mostly in a far away land.
Now what? Now to put the pieces together.
Summer 2013. I had the opportunity to interview two of the characters to be in the book. From my perspective learning radio and television interviews, I knew this interview would be different. The topic questions were varied and designed to fill in the gaps I felt needed to be filled.
After the interview and its recordings were done, I examined the info and gradually incorporated it into the digital manuscript.
Filling in some gaps? Yep, and giving a more in-depth first chapter as well.
But what about summer 2014? As it just so happened, on Facebook I read a couple of messages from yet another character in the planned book.
Beforehand, I had no idea when next he would be returning to the states. Interestingly, he stated he would be returning to my hometown, if all went as planned, just a day before I would return there from college out-of-state.
Graduation.
Time to get back to the drawing board.
Speaking of pictures, during that last year studying in South Carolina, something else dawned on me. I had two college connections of people who had lived in the very country that I was writing about in the book.
Perhaps they would have some photos?
Hundreds of photos later, I’d say that was a yes. All except for a particular elusive bird. Apparently, humans aren’t the only ones demanding their privacy rights.
So where am I in the process now? Verifying what I already have. Looking up more details. Thinking about interviewing more people. Grinning from ear to ear.
Oh, what’s the book about? That’s for me to know, and eventually you to find out.
Photo by Glen Lay
ความคิดเห็น