travel – Solano Writing

I started to write a blog on travel,

but it wasn’t going anywhere.

I told my daughter that this morning without even thinking about the double meaning.

Sometimes the dad jokes come naturally.

Regardless of that, I now sit at a small desk in an AirBNB in Franklin, TN.

The trip here kept me from finishing this blog on Sunday. The concert we attended at the Bridgestone Arena that night didn’t help either.

Now it’s Tuesday afternoon and I’m finally sitting down to some serious writing time.

Why not Monday?

I love exploring and seeing new things. Between dropping my daughter off where she needed to be and picking her up, we went to Nashville and spent some quality time at the Lane Motor Museum.

I’ve always liked to explore.

Even driving to drop off and pick up my daughter, I have a hard time not looking at all the sights on the way.

I see historic sights and imagine the stories that took place there.

I see natural wonders and imagine the reactions of the first people to see them.

I see grand houses and wonder about the lives of the people who have occupied them.

You could say my wandering tendencies are as much a product of my overactive imagination as my writing.

Maybe a new story will crop up in Franklin.

For now, I am heading back to the inside of a mountain in Arizona in my mind to try to make some much needed progress on Reymons. The characters there are evolving and starting to get to know one another.

I really want to be a significant way through the first part of that story by the time I go to the Blue Ridge Christian Writer’s Conference at the end of May. This trip is the perfect opportunity to get some momentum going.

Or maybe I need to check out downtown Franklin…

Due to COVID, I currently work in a hospital print shop. I have for the last 7 months. With the help of my coworkers, I’ve acquired several new skills.

Newly acquired skill, painting with glue.

We often have people from other locations help us out as we are the busiest print shop in our company in this area. One day, a guy I’ll call George (not his name) was helping us. He was at the workstation next to mine and was applying a second coat of glue to a project that I was taught only needed one coat.

I was curious. Did I miss something? I asked, “Hey George, didn’t you glue that already?”

Maybe I phrased that wrong because his reply was almost violent. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years, don’t tell me how to do my job!”

I was stunned silent. I thought about explaining that I was just curious but he shoved his earbuds back in and went about his redundant work.

I had to wonder, “Do I get that way?” When someone criticizes my writing, do I get defensive, or do I try to learn.

I have to admit, I sometimes get defensive. When someone points out an issue, I’ll try to explain it away. My reaction should be to learn from that criticism. Even if the critic has no writing experience, they have reading experience and can tell when something doesn’t sound right.

This old dog can learn new tricks. I was over 50 when I started getting serious about writing. I have learned a ton last few years. I still have a lot to learn.

In just a few days I take off on a road trip bound for the Blue Ridge Christian Writers Conference. I hope to refine my writing more and make some great connections.

I will be vlogging my road trip and time at the conference on The Wandering Pen, my YouTube writing channel. I can’t guarantee that I will be posting every day as I will be busy but I will do my best to make it fun and informative. See you there!

Oh, and if you criticize my videos, I’ll try to appreciate it and learn how to do them better.

Tag: travel

Not all who wander…

Old Dog, New Tricks