Here I am again, under my pen name, Hannah Marie., to share with you some of my writing thoughts, backgrounds, behind-the-scenes, and stories that I experience through writing. It may be a couple more months before any more of my long-term writing comes out, but I hope to start a small stockpile of things that I am learning on this writing adventure. It is fun to “tell” someone, and maybe I can encourage another person to put their own words on paper. This page will be a place that I share what my life as a writer looks like, even if it isn’t always smooth. Within the next year, I hope to make this even more detailed by writing specifics about my books (limited at the moment).
Well, come join me!
Most of the time I like to claim that I don’t keep a schedule, but in reality, I do. My Monday through Friday just looks a lot different than my weekend. During the work week I am a full-time specials teacher, currently teaching art [and music for second through fifth grades and middle school art history]*Updated 2023. Evenings are usually spent reading, jogging, or jotting down a few ideas for my next creative project. My two cats love attention, so this makes my writing spot in the middle of the living room ideal for them to catch head rubs and extra chin scratches.
On the weekend it is another matter. I usually get up by seven or seven thirty and either read or go out for a run. Then my next morning activity includes a coffee shop or bookstore where I can spend a few hours typing on a novel or finishing a chapter in my latest library book. This doesn’t make my home TBR (To Be Read) book list any shorter, but it’s better for the budget. After the first several busy months of teaching, I’m now getting back into the routine of drawing and writing on a regular basis. Some of this is digital art, using my iPad to sketch some of my ideas, sold here in the HM. Art Gallery tab. Sometimes, though, I like to try out different techniques on canvases and take some online portrait classes to hone my art skills.
In my novel writing, I am editing a contemporary novel about family and will soon return to my historical fiction story that I began for National Novel Writing Month this previous November (2022). When those projects are done, I will grab one of my first drafts that has sat on my computer over the years and try to hone it into a full-fledged novel. I might not become famous, but I would like to start selling my novels, even if it’s just one every couple years! I put my thoughts, dreams, and imagination into these five or so manuscripts, and I know that there is some other visionary out there who can learn just as much from my writings and take my ideas even farther. Yes, I realize I write (mostly) fiction, but the imagination can be inspiration as well, and teach people of all ages to dream their hearts out!
In the near future I hope to finish writing and design a young adult graphic novel, a mystery with many literary references. This will require lots of time and patience, but also study, as I would not consider myself a cinematographer by any means. It’s a skill I hope to learn in the next year or two as I develop what my novel is going to look like visually.
All that to say, my creative world is brimming with ideas and having a place to talk about my books and what I’m learning from them is going to be a fun outlet. I hope to pepper you with thoughts and ideas, and maybe drop some knowledge-bombs on you as well! I will learn through my research, by studying the greats, and in re-reading favorites. Hopefully I can share insights that I find and how I make connections to my writing here.
Lots of words, but I am excited! Happy learning! – HM.