How I Started My Writing Career

Toward the middle of 2005, my wife and I began talking about what I would do when I retired at the end of 2007.  She said, "You're a salesman, full of words.  Why don't you consider writing?"  "I can't write." I told her.  "Why not?" she said.  "You do articles for the Jewish Reporter newspaper and you have a column in the local Catholic magazine.  What you should consider is going back to school and taking an English composition class to brush up on your grammar."  I followed her suggestion and signed up for a twelve week English Comp course at the local community college.  I was sixty-four years old in a class full of young twenty year old adults.  We had a woman professor who made the class very interesting.  Over the twelve weeks we had six writing assignments.  Believe it or not I received an A.  The important thing was I not only learned to improve my grammar but that I liked to write and could write.   After the class was finished I had to consider what my next step would be.

So You Want to Write!

The director of a local senior center called me.  She had heard I was an author and asked me if I would be willing to do a presentation.  She further explained that she receives numerous requests from attendees about how one starts to write.  I told her I would think about some topics and e-mail them to her.  If she liked what she saw we could arrange something.  Two days later I received her call telling me it was more than she envisioned.  Yes, she wanted to schedule a session.  We listed it for the fall.  She posted it in the community mailer that was sent out and we waited to see what would happen.  She received eleven reservations.  The program went over so well I was asked to return for a second session because of interest in the topic.  Another interesting situation occured, the sister location of the senior center in another community saw the posting and called me to ask if I would do the same program at their location.  They had twenty-four reservations.

Second Time Around for a New Beginning

This posting was previously done in April, but I will begin again.  I have completed the postings of excerpts of "A Cowboy's Vengeance."  If you like what you saw the book is available online or at any bookstore in the country.  If you would like an autographed copy you can order it by going to my website www.joesmiga.com.  Besides being printed books my books are available as e-books from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or my publisher Xlibris.  I plan to take a break from writing excerpts but they will be back with the sequel to "Behind the Lies," and my memoir which will be out later this month.  What I plan to do now is post about how I began writing and what you need to address if you decide to get publishesd.

A New Beginning

Yesterday, I tried to post another portion of my writing experience.  I was not able to publish what I had written.  I saved it to a draft.  I attempted to sign out and then sign in again.  I wound up saving two more drafts and still nothing would publish.  I canceled the two additional drafts and all of a sudden I lost five months of postings after April 9, 2012.  I was very close to the end of the excerpts of my western and the majority of the postings had to do with how I started writing. 

Because I believe those postings might be useful to someone I will begin posting about my writing and publishing experience once more.  The only thing I can suggest to other bloggers is if the system doesn't work right just remove yourself from it and come back another time.  Google was evidently having problems over the weekend because the newly designed format they were using has been replaced by the original format to post and publish to your site.

HAPPY LABOR DAY

Blogger Problems

Five months of postings have been deleted.

Chapter Sixty-Five Back at the Ranch

As the three ladies arrive back at the ranch, Scott exits the front door.  He smiles seeing the three have come home safe and sound and they seem to be a little jubilant. 

“Well, how did it go?”

Carla replies with a smirk on her face, “Everything is all worked out, even what you and Tyler will wear.”

“I suppose we don’t even have a say in that either, right.”

Joan starts laughing, “Of course you do, we just came up with suggestions.”

“Oh, for a minute there I thought this might be a project run only by ladies.”

“Let us dismount and we’ll tell you all about it.”

“Let me help you with the horses.”

“Dad, do me a favor, I have asked Little Dove to stay overnight but she wants to head back now.”

“Little Dove, if you insist on leaving now that is your choice.  However, I would like to you stay as our guest, we feel you are a member of this family, stay at least another night, then you can get a fresh start in the morning.

“I am not being a burden?”

“If you are, I’ll be glad to put you to work this afternoon.”

Little Dove busts out laughing at what, Scott, just said.  “Okay, that’s a deal.”

“Spoken just like a white woman.”  Little Dove smiles.

Chapter Sixty-Four Wedding Plans

As the three ladies head into Silver Lake, apprehension starts to creep into Little Dove’s mind.  She has never done anything like this before; besides she is the only Indian amongst these other ladies.

Joan senses Little Dove’s mood because she is very quiet as they ride.  “Are you worried about being here with us?”

Little Dove looks surprised that Joan has picked up on her mood.  “Yes,” she says.  “I don’t feel like I fit in.”

“I guess it would be hard for me to sit with your maidens if you asked me to.  I would be glad to do it but I think I would be feeling just like you do now.”

Little Dove looks at her and smiles.  “I guess you’re right about that.  I didn’t think of it that way.”

“When we experience something new we tend not to look at the whole picture.  When we meet I want you to sit alongside of me.  Maybe that will make you feel a little better.”

“I’d like that, thank you.”