Spits and spurts

Welcome back!

I broke my wrist a few months ago and am still in physical therapy for it. All that spare time resulted in more than a few plotting problems working their way out of my head and onto the page. I've been filling up notebooks. Typing is still painful. I reserve the bulk of my energy for work.

I'm not sure if sitting down months ago to put words on the page would have resulted in strong solutions or if the writing would have led to a lot of false starts. It certainly felt like the latter when I was doing it.

I've always maintained that we are writers, regardless of word count. The most mundane of tasks can result in some productive writing days. Showering and driving have both been good spaces for me to figure out plot holes.

I did a lot of reading on my tablet in my convalescence. "They" tell us to read constantly; that it makes us stronger writers. I usually avoid my genre of choice while I'm writing it so that I don't accidentally mimic someone else's style or story. Because I thought I was never going to get back to writing ( I can catastrophize with the best of them) I pick up a couple of good hockey romances.

Stephanie Julian writes hot, steamy hockey players. It's a wonder these men can excel at their sport when they're hot enough to melt the ice around them. Stephanie knows her hockey and it shows. I may have re-read The Brickwall, the first in her Redtails Hockey series, a couple of times.

I also spent some time getting to know the South Carolina Stingrays. My friends are season ticket holders and I usually catch an event when I visit. It seems disloyal to follow them more than my local team but I'm always working when our guys play. Thank the gods for the NHL and their long season.

To recap: writing is happening again. Thanks to my injury and subsequent physio, I have given my hero an epic injury that may, or may not, sideline his career forever. I'm writing with a lot more confidence. It's fun now that I've repaired the plot holes.

How are things with you?