Small Bumps and Huge Hurdles

Having spent the better part of the last two days trying to troubleshoot major computer problems, I almost drug out that dusty typewriter in the garage. Something has been causing power surges that cause the hard drive to slow to a crawl and eventually lock up. I feared the worst. Last year my hard drive crashed, and the first and only time I paid for computer help, the tech installed a used drive in its place. (It's what I could afford at the time.) Now I was beginning to wonder if its day had come too.

After about the hundredth reboot, you begin to feel an insane rage creep upon you. How dare the computer fail you now-- now when your Muse is so heavy and faithful, now when you're in the homestretch and full of inspiration. It was depressing, to say the least. But, as you can tell, my perserverance paid off. Only problem is, I don't really know which fix finally fixed the crazy thing. All I know is it seems to be functioning normally now. What a relief! I wouldn't dare slander a certain manufacturer or software company, but my hunch is it had something to do with updates and upgrades, not a virus as I originally thought.

The good news is I'm back and better than ever. Two nights of staying up til 2 a.m. worrying about how I was going to do my transcription and praying feverishly paid off in more ways than just a fixed computer. I would take breaks as the computer rebooted and think about new chapters. My two magazines came this week, "The Writer" and "The Writer's Digest," and I devoured them completely. I also bought a copy of the revised version of How to Write and Sell Your First Novel, by Oscar Collier with Frances Spatz Leighton. After finishing it late this morning, I couldn't be more pumped about my novel.

I have to say, as I stood in the Christian Fiction aisle at Books a Million, I felt a cold chill run down my spine and down to my fingertips as I perused the selections. I cradled Francine Rivers books as though they were gold. I read blurbs from the backs and inside covers. I checked for length and publishers. I admired the covers with great envy. As any other aspiring writer has done, I envisioned my byline glaring up from me, "C. H. Green," or some other variation of it. It was the first time in my entire life that I actually allowed myself to believe the dream.

So, now that I'm past that hurdle and the technical computer challenge, I'm ready to forge ahead, and soon I hope to announce the first rough draft finished and ready for rewrite. Lord willing, as my granny says. Lord willing.