The Great American Novel

My friend Keith has been my coach since...last April.  Had to stop and think for a minute.  He's one of those people you feel you've known all your life.  Just a few weeks after we met, his first novel was accepted for publication, and since then, he has sent me preview chapters for his second in the works - and it blew me away!  The man has a gift for plotting events and chapters.  His gift is a natural one.  He learns by reading.  As a matter of fact, he says it's hard to enjoy a book anymore because he's too busy studying the author's style and technique to enjoy the story.

I know that feeling because I do the same thing.  Could be why we feel like we've known each other all our lives - we have so much in common.  And he believes in me...he enjoys the short stories I send, and he has encouraged me to try for a longer work.

That's overwhelming, you know.  It's a commitment to something bigger than I am.  I know because I've tried and walked away from it, feeling very small at the base of that mountain...

Each effort, Keith asks me - what do you want to say?  What is the theme?  and you know, I didn't have an answer, until now.

Saturday night, he said - tell me in twenty words or less what you want to say.  and i did, and it felt GREAT!  but he knew the adrenalin rush that came with it, mentioned it before I did.  And so, yesterday was spent plotting and planning, writing and the cardinal rule Keith gave me - have fun with it.  You'll have to rewrite, but the important thing in the beginning is to just DO it, without fear of failure.

Not sure why he has taken such an interest in my progress unless it's one of those give and take things.  I read him, offer constructive crit from an objective point of view, and he reads me back.  Whatever the reason, I'm glad he's there.  He doesn't sugarcoat anything, and he's the taskmaster from hell, but I'm enjoying every second of it.