Grateful to Be Writing

by Mike Martin

I just finished the third book in my Windflower Mystery Series, and as it winds its way into the hands of my friendly beta readers, I am reminded how lucky I am to be able to write and to have other people read and comment on it. As Thanksgiving approaches it is a good time to give thanks, even with all of the changes and challenges of the book and publishing world.

So here’s a few things I am grateful for this year.

I am grateful that I am a seat-of-the-pants writer rather than someone who has to plot the whole story out before they can even begin to write. This way I get to discover the story the same way that readers do. The characters show up and they tell the story. I just write it down. It may be bigger and deeper than that, some great flow of creation and imagination that I’m tapping into, but I like the simple version. They talk, and I write.

I am grateful to be writing fiction. I think that it must be very difficult to write about all of the trials and tribulations of the world. There are so many problems and so few solutions, so many war-makers and so few interested in peace. I can see why some columnists and editorial-type writers seem so bitter. They probably find it hard to find good things to write about. And probably harder to sleep at night. I sleep just fine. I am grateful that I am a mystery writer. I didn’t know I was going to be one, didn’t even think about it really. I kinda just fell into it. But what a great genre!! There’s tons of great writers and even better readers already here. I try and follow the basic tenets of the genre but I have realized that it’s just another way to tell a story. And that’s what writing is really all about.

I am grateful that technology allows me to pop into this beautiful blog today, courtesy of the delightful Mary Fan. Technology also lets me make new ‘friends’ every day on social networks, and to share with them some small pieces of the same journey. I know it’s impersonal and anonymous and people do tell small fibs and major lies on her, but it is a medium to communicate that we never had before. That’s pretty cool. Finally, I am grateful that anybody, anywhere, can publish their own stories, for free or very little. I am not a particular fan of e-books but they have opened the doors to many more writers and many more stories. By the way, my latest book, The Body on the T, is now available in Kindle and Kobo version. Check it out on Amazon.com. Oh, yeah I’m grateful that I can come on here and offer a blatant self-promotion. That’s even cooler.

So if you are a writer, or an aspiring writer, be grateful to be alive today. It could be worse. You could be still trying to get a publisher to have a look at your quill and parchment document. Yes, it could be better, but it could be worse.

About the Author
Mike Martin is the author of the Windflower Mystery Series, set in small communities on the east coast of Canada. His latest book, The Body on the T, is now available as an e-book on Amazon.com

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Review of Mike Martin's The Walker on the Cape (first book in the Windflower Mystery Series)
An Interview with Mike Martin

www.bodyonthet.com