My freshman English classes have been in mythology mode, and I'm shocked at how much I'm enjoying the experience.  I never taught mythology before, but I'm apparently getting inspired by it.  I hope the sentiment is similar for my students!  A great connection between myths and my passion for Chicago history appeared this morning, and I felt the need to write about it.

Whenever I come up with an essay or story about Chicago, I'll be copying it onto the "Essays and Stories" section of the website.  With that said, I hope you check out today's piece called "Good Morning, Aurora!"  (http://www.ghesslaumagrady.com/essays--stories/good-morning-aurora.)

Well, in addition to this website (www.g-lines.weebly.com)
and the new blog that has its own tab here (www.g-lines.weebly.com/blog),
I now have a writer's page on Facebook
(http://www.facebook.com/writer.ghesslaumagrady),
a Twitter account (https://twitter.com/GHesslauMagrady)
and an updated LinkedIn profile
(http://www.linkedin.com/pub/geralyn-hesslau-magrady/33/639/131). 

I guess there's no excuse for not contacting me, eh?

In April 2014, I found the Writer's Digest Poem-a-Day Challenge, and the experience invigorated this "hobby" of mine.  Through daily poem posts, I inspired my students by being a role model in writing, not just reading, poetry.  Personally, I created habits that prepared me for the most productive summer of revisions with my novel of historical fiction.  That single month was a springboard for the last 18 months of my evolving into the writer I want to be.

Writer.  Although I've always written, I am not a master of any genre or form.  I don't have a single voice or style.  I simply play with words, so whenever someone would refer to me as a "writer," I usually responded, "No, I just write."  What a shame!  Self-conscious, I never wanted to share my work with others, never wanted to let people into a world I enjoyed, afraid that someone's opinion or critique might prove me a writing fraud, thus destroying a whole part of who I am.  What the PAD Challenge gave me was an opportunity to share my joy of writing with a community that embraced my moments of mediocrity as well as my moments of pure genius.  I walked away with a handful of poems of which I was proud, another handful of poems I let sit and returned to for revision and contest entries, and another handful of poems that, well, I cringed at.  But the cringing was okay.  As a matter of fact, the comeback mode after cringing is what made me feel like a real writer.

So, that book of mine.  Yeah.  It had been a novel-in-progress for way too long, but all those drafts later brought me to the summer of '14, when the stars aligned, when I found a writing "place," when I was still high on the PAD challenge and started believing that I was a writer.  July 2015 brought my previous summer's dedication to the proof stage, and now I'm meeting with readers before the REAL final draft is set for publication.  It's coming together, and that's why I am appreciative of Writer's Digest once again. 

For being the "poetry guy" at WD, Mr. Robert Brewer is doing it again for the novelist in me.  By posing the "October Platform Challenge," I am tackling a new goal: to create a writer's platform.  In all honesty, I don't know what this month will entail, but since accepting the fact that I am, indeed, a writer, and since the book WILL be published BEFORE another summer comes and goes, I guess this is the practical next step. 

Today's task:  create a blog if you don't have one, and write a blog post. 
Complete.

(And for anyone visiting from the WD Challenge, please subscribe on the "Home" page for your chance to win a copy of LINES-- when it's released!)

The next round of proofs will be in early next week, just in time for the anniversary of Chicago's Great Fire of 1871. I've got a couple of readers lined up, but I'm looking for two more. If you're interested and have the time to read and critique a 265-page work of historical fiction, please message me. I'm hoping to finish this final stage and get set for publication before the end of 2015. Yikes!

I have to say that this part of the writing process is more exciting than I ever expected.  When the proofs for LINES— came in the mail, I was ecstatic!  To finally see my novel coming to fruition? I can't explain the joy.  My mom got teary-eyed when she saw the first page, and she immediately turned to my dad to tell him that I dedicated the book to them.  He, too, got a little misty, and with everything we've gone through with Dad in the past few months, I was thankful to have this moment, to witness my parents' pride right then and there, not assume it with their existence on the other side. 

There were four books to pass out to a handful of readers, and then came the waiting game.  My anxiety built with every passing day, dying to hear anything, good or bad, just a word to know how the story was panning out for them.  Less than two weeks later, the texts came in, and to sum up the responses: all of the readers enjoyed the story, got attached to the characters (everyone loves Will!), were intrigued by the setting and historical events.  However, my proof discussions were not gushing praise for a first-time writer.  On the contrary, each reader was open about what confused them:

* "Where's the historical fiction disclaimer?"
* "It took too long to realize that Livia and Catherine were not sisters"
* "I spent the whole first half of the book peeking in on Livia's daily life, and now I feel cheated by not having more details about what happened during the time lapse"
* "I had to look up information about that march because you didn't give enough information to fully understand why the characters were there" 

The criticisms were welcomed because each reader had a positive experience but wanted more from the author.  That's the kind of stuff I need to make me a better writer, to make the book a better story.  I immediately started working on minor edits, but my reality is that I'm back in school with a new job and a ton of grading and lesson planning.  I'll return to the major revisions in LINES-- whenever I can, but overall, I'm delighted with the responses, and I couldn't be more grateful to these readers for their enthusiasm, support, and honest critiques.  Nell, Theresa, Debbie B., and Russ:  you are the best!

Some people have asked if, now that I'm so close to completion, I'll change my mind about self-publishing and go the traditional route, instead.  The answer is no.  The feeling of accomplishment that has flourished with each step of this process is remarkable.  I've developed a truer sense of ownership with LINES— by taking the time to experiment with formatting and selecting a book cover, to go through personal editing and seeking critiques, to learn about social media and finding an audience.  It's been a rewarding whirlwind, and the bottom line is this:  I'm a teacher.  First and foremost, I teach.  I see myself as one who plays with words and lines and descriptions, and I think this passion for writing, ultimately, makes me a more effective English teacher.  I dabble with poetry and essays and journaling; I challenge myself with new ideas (I just submitted my first piece of flash fiction).  If I was a professional writer/author, I'd probably want to find an editor and agent and publisher, but I'm proud to be a teacher who models the joy of writing.  If a publisher wants to pick up the book after I've self-published, well, I'll reflect on that, but for now, I'm content with my novel-in-progress, my blog, my chapbook, my handful of online publications, and... my starter-website!