Teal Shadows and Endings

A party? It sounded such fun! It had been so long, too long, since I'd been to anything like that.

But, the block? They never said it was for my head...

---

Hey there. Thanks so much for dropping my little corner of the Block Party. Are you having fun? Have you read some of the amazing posts that have been on here? I'm honoured to have been invited. KellyAnneBlount is amazing and she does a brilliant job of hosting this event so often!

So, I was wondering what to write about for this post today. Sometimes, the ideas are there quite easily, while others take a certain amount of effort to come up with. I have to get behind them, getting my shoulders in and pushing with all my might. Not good news now I have osteoarthritis and a walking stick! Or I have to tease the tip of the idea with the fingertip of my mind until there's enough to grab a hold of so I pull it free.

This time, I don't even have that. I was hoping inspiration would hit me as I wrote this introduction.

It didn't!

My mind is having a busy time of it recently, though. With my various projects on the go, it's hunting with @sebjenkins, it's in Oz with Dorothy, zombies, a werewolf and a serial killing robot, and it's with Alice in a strange land full of wonder. And all this is wrapped up with 31 Creepy Words such as the opening to this very post!

As such, this might meander a bit. I know, I know. Not like me at all! So, with no plan, where should I start? Will it even be interesting or coherent?

Well, I guess we'll find out...

So first, how about a little announcement?

If you know me, you'll know I'm a big cheerleader for Wattpad. Well, apart from the outfit and pompoms, of course. I've written all my life, but it's only really since I found Wattpad that it all came alive. Came together. Reaching #1 on Amazon was amazing, without a doubt, but Wattpad gives a whole new dimension.

It gives YOU.

Here, there is a massive, 65 MILLION strong platform of people who are all lovers of the written word, whether that's reading, writing or both, Wattpad gives us all a shared community to share that love. That number is growing every day, too. I've had consistently wonderful comments on my stories, plus lots of lovely votes and reads. More than that, I've made friends. I've extended my family. I've had mindblowing opportunities, such as working with films and travelling to Wattpad HQ. These are things I never even dreamed I'd be able to do, but I have. For some time, I've wanted to be able to give something back. Not as a repayment, though I do feel indebted, but as a thank you. I wanted to try and help others find the Wattpad I found.

But, that's no small order.

Luckily, there's a wonderful group of people who are already in place to do exactly that. Not for me, specifically, but for everyone. They want to make this a wonderful experience for everyone and work extremely hard, let by the fabulous @TheOrangutan, to do so. They're called Ambassadors and you can recognise them by their lovely teal badge and, in many cases, a similarly coloured sash on their profile picture.

If you happen to check out my profile, you might see something just like that! Yes indeedy! I, myself, me and yours truly am an official Wattpad Ambassador! Can you believe it? I said, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? I'm thrilled. Amazed. Shocked. Oodles of other effusing superlatives. Part of me worries that I won't live up to the phenomenal legacy they've created. I'm told that won't be the case. I'm assured that I will do just fine. I do hope so as I really do want to do well. I owe Wattpad a lot. I'm a better writer (I hope). A more confident, though still shy and uncertain inside, and, like I said, there's a lot of Wattpad love in my live with people all over the world.

So, there you have it. I'm an Ambassador with my very own teal badge!

How can I top that? I'm not sure I can, so I'll just move on to something else.

Next, we have the scary feeling of nearing the end of a book! How do you feel when this happens to you, either as a reader or a writer? It's the latter I'm talking about today. My book Dorthy was my NanoWriMo book from November. I actually managed to 'win' and write 50,000 words of it in the month. Since then, for various reasons, I've written only 35,000 since then. In one respect, I'm not happy with myself about that. Not at all! It should be finished by now, right? Long complete and well on the way with the next book?

Well, I can't say that I'm not into other books and that's part of the problem. I have the habit of writing, getting well into the book and then getting another idea. I'd write a few notes and think, I'll just write the first chapter, and then end up carrying on. I'd know not to do that, but I'd be doing it before I realised. So, with Dorothy, I told myself I really wouldn't. I'm involved in a collaboration with @sebjenkins, called The Hunt, I have my 31 Creepy Words collection (that I'm now doing video readings of) and I've also got two other new books on the go – one of which I'm letting you, the reader choose ALL the names of, including the title – drop by my profile to cast your votes!

But, Dorthy. I'm determined to finish it before I properly dedicate myself to any other book. I'm not that far off, actually. I can see the end, and I think that's my problem. It scares me. The book is getting wonderful comments and I have thoroughly enjoyed taking Dorothy onto a slightly different journey through Oz. I'm concerned, however. I think I fell this every time I write a book. Short stories are different. I'm feeling the end almost as soon as I start the beginning. A book is different. With a book, there are far more twists during the journey. And the conclusion is bigger.

I once read a book by Dean Koontz, whom I am a big fan of. I won't give the title here, but it was a fantastic story. The problem was, it ended in about two pages. I was engrossed in a wonderful novel and then...erm... it was done. Before reading it, I didn't really have an issue. I'd write the full manuscript without worrying about where it was going. It got there and it was fine. Now, however, I worry. Even though readers have repeatedly told me how much they love the story and the characters – including those they, perhaps, might not – I am concerned. What if I don't do justice to the story I've already told? What if you guys don't like it? What if I do like Koontz did and spoil an entire book by not doing a proper climax?

I'm hoping, of course, that I don't. I'm almost there and I've outlined where it's going. I hope the flesh on those bones is tasty and good enough for Edward to want it for himself (he's a serial killing mechanical man rebuilding himself from the body parts of his victims... as you do).

We shall see. You won't, I think, have long to wait.

And finally, I just want to mention a chapter of 31 Creepy Words. It was one of the very few that consists of a little more than that magical number. Only the second in over a hundred chapters, I think. It's called See Me? and started off as being about the shadows being alive. Now, that's so something I'd have to write about, isn't it? It changed as I was writing it, though. It became less about the physical shadows with a supernatural tint. It evolved into a story about people who are shadows because they're ignored. Well, not ignored as much as not seen in the first place. Or avoided the way you avoid the dark corners or hallways because you're afraid of what's lurking therein.

I'd just like to ask that, if you know someone like that, who isn't exactly hiding in the shadows so much as being one themselves, be their light. Show them they're not invisible. #BeTheLight. If you are one those people, I hope you find a way to emerge and show the world how wonderful you are. Wattpad is one of the best places for you to be able to do that. You can be yourself in ways you can't be elsewhere. So, there's a bright orange light there for you.

Be well, everyone. Be excellent to each other.

***

ENTER THE WATTPAD BLOCK PARTY GIVEAWAYS BY CLICKING HERE: Shortened Link to Blog: https://goo.gl/2c6YUP

OR HERE:

Regular Link to Blog: http://kellyanneblountauthor.blogspot.com/2018/07/wattpad-block-party-giveaways-summer.html