Everything old is new again. And again, and again...

I'm going to start writing again.

Oh my god, thats scary just typing that out. Its like making if official now. Its not just a random thought roaming about in my brain, now its in PRINT. Whoa.

Scary or not, though, I'm doing it. (Scary again!) I won't ever be an Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, or even J.K. Rowling... but writing used to make me happy, and I think I need more "happy" lately. I have one story in particular that I would like to finish. Its been sitting around waiting for me for about 6 years, so I think its about time. I've been lurking about it writer's forums lately, and the itch to write came back. I honestly didn't think that it would ever show its ugly face again. I was pretty convinced that the writing thing was something I'd lost along the way. Part of me was maybe even happy about it being lost. The part of me that misses it won though. Its back, and I'm going to encourage it.

Most of the things I've written in the past were short stories. I don't seem to be able to make longer stories/novels work. I tend to write myself into corners. I won't limit myself to short stories - whatever wants to come out can come on out - but I would like to try and make a series of cohesive short stories. Something with a common theme, maybe? Or, what I'd really like to do, is a series of short stories that spans a character's life. Little vignettes of important (and maybe not so important moments). I recently reconnected with a really good friend of mine who I had lost contact with 14 years ago... and when we caught up, it was like "what have you done for the past 14 years?" And I summed it all up for him in one run-on sentence. Fourteen years, all condensed down to a half dozen or so key moments. Short stories.

I'm going to use this blog for some of my writing exercises, in among the usual ramblings and goings-on. Some of my writing will be using good old pen and paper, but I actually like to type as well. My folks got me a manual typewriter for Christmas when I was in 8th grade, and I used to sit there and type stories out for hours. (Of course, I self-taught myself to type, so my typing style is a little wacky.) When I was in high school, I upgraded to an electric typewriter, which I still have (and use). I don't actually like the electric typewriter as much - the keys are too "soft". I like the bold "clickety clack" noise of keys as I type. I like loud keys and loud keyboards.

I'm going to do this. I'm going to start writing again. I am excited to do it.