As I went to create a file for my May blog, I was stunned to find a May blog already existed. Nice. Had the writing fairy left me a surprise? Curious, I opened the file and realized it had been a year since I started blogging on a monthly basis. True, I’m not nearly as prolific as the bloggers who blog daily, but at least I know what a blog is now—even if I don’t follow all of the conventions.

It’s funny when I think about it. I’ve guest blogged on many other blogs, and I’ve had hosts say, “I really enjoyed your essay.” Essay. Hmm. Interesting word choice. As an English teacher, I have pretty high standards for that word. But it probably fits since I’ve been around the form most of my adult life. When I reflect, blogging has been the one time I’ve consistently followed my own advice about essay writing. I tell my students to “free write” (to write about whatever comes into their minds), and if they switch topics, it’s okay. Free writing is not a place for censorship; it’s a place for creativity. “Censor your internal critic,” I tell them. I’ve said that phrase at least fifty times in my teaching career.

If you could see the title at the top of my Word document, you would see Book Two. Yes. That’s what I wanted to write about today. The second book in the Professor Prather Mystery series is coming out Sept. 15, 2017, and I’m really excited. I just finished the edits, and for the next couple of weeks, I will question every word I think or write (that’s grocery aisle—not isle!). When you are editing, you catch errors you never thought you could make. It scares you.

So maybe writing this blog is a way of exorcizing (yep, just looked that up in Webster) my critic because if I allowed her to rule, I would get nothing done. I would be worried about word choices and word counts and, well, words. And I like making up stories, and book three is waiting. . . .