Weird Reading

[tnbopeep]

OK, so here's the deal.....my brother writes. Up til now it's been short stories and it's been strange enough to see my brother selling stories on Amazon. My brother. My.Brother.......too weird. Now, he's sent me the first draft of a book he's written - - - like a real book. My.Brother.  And it's pretty darned good - lots of research, history, legend & lore of ancient Ireland. My.Brother.

I think the earth has tilted on its axis - there's no other explanation for this....My.Brother. I write this post not to tout my brother but just that I find it all so strange. He knows the chance of having it published are very small but he says he just enjoyed the heck out of the research & writing.

As much as I love reading I could never conceive of putting in all that time - much less have the talent & ability - and writing a book.

So, the question is -  would you, could you, have you  written a book?

[Ursula]

Five years ago, my sister took a year off work to write her book, but it never happened.  Not to say she didn't put in lots of time and effort, but she discovered just how hard it is to actually write a book.  I haven't asked if she's still trying to finish it because I'm sure she'll let me know if it happens.  So I think I understand how you feel about your brother writing a book, it is kind of weird to actually know he wrote a book, BUT kudos to him and good luck.  We all might just be reading that book in another year.

[Mandy Muffin]

I write a book each year for the National Novel Writing Month contest.  I have completed seven of them.  I actually ran five of them in serial form on the old EONS site.  The latest, "Appalachian Tarot," is about a trek along the Appalachian Trail by a middle age man who is seeking answers to his troubled life. In his late 40s, he drops out of marriage, family and career as he undertakes a catharsis experience.  It follows the 22 steps (cards) of the Fool in search of wisdom as told through the major arcana of the Tarot. 

I have considered converting one or two of them to Amazon format and self-publishing.  But the fun is to write the story.  As I hiked the Appalachian Train in my 40s, I had a inside knowledge of the conditions there and created a total imaginary 200 day journey from Georgia to Maine.  There have been many Appalachian Trail stories told.  The latest I read was "Becoming Odyssa" http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Odyssa-Adventures-Appalachian-Trail/... 

The beauty of the National Novel Writing approach is you are forced to create a 50,000 word story in just 30 days.  You can do all the research you want before the start and not bother to edit as you go along.  But you must write it.  http://nanowrimo.org/en

[Carci]

I've written much poetry over the years but never a novel or even a short story. 

I have much the same reaction as you tnbopeep when I see stories my 16 year old grandson has written and published online.  He won 3rd place in an online story writing contest and has started a comic book company with a friend who does the art work... "Expresso Press"...  My. Grandson.

Yes it seems strange and weird and wonderful to read his stories...