This Time

"This Time" by The Verve

lyrics by Richard Ashcroft

"Lookin' back on my life

You know that all I see

Are things I could've changed

I should have done

Where did the good times go?

Good times so hard to hold

This time, this time

This time I'm gonna find

Lookin' back on my life

You know that all I see

Are things I could of changed

I could have done

No time for sad lament

A wasted life is bitter spent

So rise into the light

In or out of time

Gonna rise straight through the light

In or out of time...

...I am growing

In peculiar ways

Into a light I pass

Another dream, another trance

This time, this time

This time I'm gonna rise into the light

In or out of time

Gonna find my way in life

In or out of sight...

...Gonna rise straight into the light

In or out of sight...

...'Cause I know there is time

There is time...

This time, this time..."

This time, I'm starting a new blog, about writing and time. It's my fifth attempt at blog writing and posting, and hopefully, I'll stick to this one and it will be a successful endeavor.

In past times, I've always started a new blog on New Year's Day. But today's my birthday, and it seems a good point to mark the passage of time, and to set new goals, in writing and in life.

There's something significant about the fact that I've been on this planet, in this life, for a certain number of years, that puts it all into perspective for me.

I'm inspired by the song, "This Time," from one of my favorite Brit-pop bands, The Verve. The excerpted lyrics posted here speak perfectly to how I feel about time.

What is it about the concept of time, that fascinates me so much, and informs much of my writing and thoughts about life? Maybe it's the idea that humans have always tried to control and measure time, with clocks and calendars, but the scientific and philosophical concepts of time are always changing, with each new idea and theory. And there's so much I've yet to learn, with my curiosity and interest, but limited knowledge of science, especially physics.

Some of my favorite non-fiction and fiction books, movies and TV shows deal with different aspects of time - memory, time-travel, reincarnation, immortality.

And looking over my many, many unfinished story and novel manuscripts, I've realized that time has been a theme running through many of them.

There's the series of young adult novels I've started, about troubled teens and their guidance counselor - really a "time guide," - who gives each of them a do-over, so they can go back and resolve their problem situations.

And my adult modern-fantasy novel, about a woman who meets up with her 20-years-younger self, and then inadvertently changes places with her.

And another modern-fantasy, about a woman who becomes immortal (not a vampire!) and must try to find others like her, while coping with being different in the day-to-day world.

And a novel that I'd back-burnered many years ago, about a couple who meet up after being kept apart by a generation of time.

And there are others... enough to keep me busy with writing for a long time to come.

Some basic info about me:

- I live in the Hudson Valley, NY, with my boyfriend, Ian, who manages a photo lab while working on a career as a fine-art photographer.

- I've been writing ever since I learned to read and write, and I've wanted a career in writing ever since I first understood that people actually wrote the stories I loved to read so much (around age 5).

- I wrote my first full-length book when I was ten, as a 5th grade writing project. Both my 5th and 6th grade teachers encouraged me in my writing, and it was easy to write for fun while imagining a career as a writer when I grew up.

- I studied journalism and communications at Northeastern University in Boston, and later got a 2-year professional certificate in journalism from New York University. But I haven't pursued journalism as a career, because I've realized that my heart is in fiction writing.

- I'm a member of Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) - its local chapter meets every month at the bookstore where I work. I've gotten to know many talented local writers, both aspiring and published; and have learned much about book publishing in group discussions and from attending SCBWI conferences.

- I've worked for many years at the bookstore, which has helped me learn about the publishing industry from the retail end. I've also met many accomplished local authors who have done events at the store. And I've spent way too much money on books (especially writing books), magazines, CDs and DVDs there!

So my goal with this blog is to write about the topic of time, as it pertains to my life, interests, and writing projects. And also to develop and keep track of my works-in-progress. Hopefully, by this time next year, I'll have made many blog posts, and will have at least one completed book manuscript to submit to agents and publishers.

Here's to a productive and successful future!

(Wednesday, November 24, 2010 2:35am)