Deanna Repose Oaks

Poetically Captured Moments From the Heart

My Writing Life

Book Clubs

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Never underestimate the power of a book club. They can do amazing things, just by reading books… and drinking wine.

I joined book clubs because I was struggling to decide what to read. I can never make up my mind about what to read next – I am not a genre reader I am a GOOD STORY reader. I’ll read anything, even the crappiest crap, all the way to the end if the blurb is good. For a while, I was just allowing my Kindle to recommend books to read. Bad idea let me tell you! While I learned lots about what not to write, it was difficult to find satisfaction. The book clubs SAVED me, in more ways than one.

First, I am now reading better books without being forced to think about what I am going to read next. Second, the group shares what they think, so I get to hear so many different opinions about the stories. Third, I feel valued when I share my opinions, enough so that I often open up when the books cut deep, and they all there with bandages and care. Fourth, I now have a tribe of people to ask for help on the silliest of things like where the cheapest gas station is or the hardest of things like can you help me take care of my family because one of us is sick. Fifth, I get to help others with the silliest of things and the hardest of things. Sixth… I could go on (and on and on), but I feel I may be boring you…. so I’ll stop there.

My books clubs have healed me, made me helpful, shown me that people are worth more time than I was giving them, and that you really shouldn’t judge a book by its cover (or its blurb!).

Powerful stuff, all of it.

My TBR Pile…. That I keep getting distracted from

Journal #55

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Well, at least I am consistent in my inconsistency. So, there’s that. I’m also consistent in beating myself up for being inconsistent. I keep SAYING that this is the year, this is the book…. and then – zip.

I will say that for 2021, I have published another book of poetry: Poetic Reactions, based upon my theory that I could write poems inspired by two words. While I might not be making a ton of money, the cover has garnered a lot of compliments, and I’ve been blessed by more than my fair share of people so good will come of my writing career. With the publication of this book, I hit two all-time records: I had two shows (back to back) where I sold 19 books. That’s 38 books sold over 4 days. Made for some good morale boosting.

But, I failed in keeping up with the blog – twice it seems this year. Emotions running high and being twisting in all sorts of shapes and angles really messes with thoughts and words seem to disappear. I’m working through all that though in the hopes of getting better about things.

My plan for 2022 is to get the 40K book out that I have been editing for two months. To be more consistent with this blog. To be more present with an audience (any audience, really). Not be so scared of my shadow and start treating facebook like it is a frat party the first week of school. I don’t know anyone, but I’d like to get to know everyone and learn the lay of the land.

Here’s hoping I hit at least one of these goals!

Journal #55

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I am editing, still. All the red ink is hard to get through – both emotionally and physically. I am drowning in the ink right now, mostly ink I am spilling. But, I know that the end result will be worth this pain. It is so daunting. I wonder how writers have the stamina to go through the editing process if they publish more than 1 book a year. I don’t know how they do it. But, I guess genre has a lot to do with it.

Poetry is easy to get through by comparison. It is so subjective to the reader that the writer just has to broadly paint something for the reader to then digest. Poems do not have to be perfect, or even well-written, to be good. But, I also feel like I hide in the poetry, for fear of a backlash for imprefection that is imagined.

I’m all over the map right now as well.

Journal #54

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Finding myself reliving vicariously through my old writing. I’m glad I was told to look at that piece from the writing point of view rather than the personal point of view. It made me relook at everything. Revisiting my previously published pieces and the response of the publishers has been therapeutic. I see the writing now. I see the lack of editing now. I know what that means now.

Now… if I can only apply this newfound positive energy to the book that I’m currently working through. Rewrites are tough, and even more so when the current rewrite is not the first rewrite. I find that what I changed before should not have changed until I change it back only to find that doesn’t work either. But, I’m going to get through it, one way or another. And, then I’m going to get better and get faster. That’s how it works, right?

Journal #53

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June was a month of catharsis for me, that bled through July. I let go of a piece of writing I wrote years ago. It was a piece aimed at getting a conversation going with my parents. My mother took the horrible things written about me and instead of contradicting what I wrote, she added more. I let her view of me shape how I saw myself for years. It was recently pointed out that I was looking at the piece the wrong way. I needed to look at what this piece of writing said about me as a writer not at what it said about me as a person. You see, I wrote this piece as a character retrospective of my mother’s view of me, not how I view myself. At eighteen, I pegged my mother’s view of me so well that the view was not refuted once revealed. I could not see how well I wrote from another person’s perspective. I only adopted that perspective as my own and fought against it every chance I had.

I’m sitting here now, in September, seeing my writing life in a whole new light. I am looking back at all the pieces of my work that were published verbatim by publishers. I am seeing that I am a better writer than I ever give myself credit for. I am no longer looking at what the words said but how they were written and…

I AM SELLING BOOKS!

Journal #52

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Well, I am keeping up with the challenge of writing 100 words a day for 100 days. While I am editing, I’m not writing as many words as required. I’m also not writing every day. As of this post, I am still AVERAGING 100 words/day, so I’m putting that down as an accomplishment in my book. (My book of accomplishments, not my novel.)

Another accomplishment I have achieved: a poem of mine has garnered enough interest that I have been PAID for it. Wait, what? Yes, PAID. It has been a real long time since a single poem of mine has earned money… I cannot believe it!

Now, if I can just stick through this editing mess and keep putting one foot in front of the other long enough to get this book PUBLISHED. Finding an editor has been a struggle that I have yet to overcome. Finding someone with just the right talents at just the right price with the availability with their timeline is proving to be more difficult than I imagined when I set out on this journey. I didn’t think I was that picky or that cheap! But, for my book of accomplishments, I’m adding “learned something new about myself this week” as one of my entries. Celebrating the small wins, no matter how small!