If you are reading this, you have somehow stumbled upon my own little corner of the internet—a room of my own, if you will. Virginia Woolf undoubtedly had a more physical room in mind when she wrote her famous essay, but that is the beauty of the digital age. Even if your own physical room is not forthcoming, your own digital room is just a few clicks away. So, welcome to my world.
Now, you are almost certainly wondering what the heck “eftsoons” means. Its meaning is along the lines of “soon after” or “anew.” If you are particularly enterprising, you will have noticed that I am not using “eftsoons” correctly in the name of this site even though I have used it correctly in the title of this post. What’s the difference? I’m using “eftsoons” as an adjective in the site’s name and as an adverb (it’s correct part of speech) in the post title. But, I like the sound of the word and its meaning is rather appropriate. Also, it’s used quite frequently in P.G. Wodehouse. If you don’t know who THAT is, stay tuned. He’ll be making an appearance at some point and his characters may just be wearing familiar faces.
I called my site The Eftsoons Writer because I feebly attempted to blog when I attempted an editing business several years ago. I failed. I had such grand plans for it—more grand than any of my attempts to edit professionally. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the self-awareness to go with those grand plans and I gave up before I’d ever truly begun. Never was a bigger mistake made.
Now that I’m at another crossroads in my life, it’s time to strike out yet again. I am stronger now, wiser now, and I have actually lived outside of my own narrow viewpoint. Moreover, I have an end goal in mind this time around and it’s not initially what I thought it was.
Primarily, I want to be published. I have a book (three, in fact!!!!) in the works which grew organically from snippets I have written over the past six or so years. They’re fantastic people, all of them, and one of them is getting to the point where I’m not even sure I’m the one writing him anymore.
But, my characters will never get the acclaim they so richly deserve unless their authoress has prepared the world for their entry. This blog is an attempt to pave the way for them and to prepare their hopefully future readers for the kind of people they are. If, in the process, you get to know and like their authoress too, so much the better!
So, to prepare the world for my characters, I am going to take you through a leisurely trip through my library and introduce you to all the characters and stories who have inspired me, comforted me, and, ultimately, opened me up to a wider world. If you know me personally, yes, there is going to be a LOT of Shakespeare. And Dante, and Austen, and all the other writers I’ve loved and looked to all my life.
I’ll also write about other things that affect my writing and my characters such as mindset, other creative endeavors, my own reading adventures, and tips in general for getting out of a creative funk. And failing. And trying again. If there is one thing I’ve realized in my journey of self-awareness, it is that others have been where I have been, are going through what I have gone through, and who need to know they are not alone.
Am I scared? Terrified. Putting yourself out there is always terrifying but putting yourself out there again, when you have failed before takes guts and grit I didn’t know I had until my father passed away last year.
Another reason for me trying to blog again was to pave the way for more regular work as a writer while I’m in the process of writing my books and working on getting published. The opportunities out there are practically endless. In a world where connectivity is commonplace and division more stark, we’ve never needed good writers or good writing more than we have in the here and now.
Working in the business world has taught me this much: clear and concise writing is something of a rarity. You’d think in a world largely reliant on email that it wouldn’t be, but it is nonetheless. I was told to my face English majors should be teaching, that is not the case. English majors should be the ones generating business documents, writing correspondence, and editing the material which already exists! Traditionally, this is what people in the realm of administrative professionals did. Secretaries would draft and edit their boss’ letters and correspondence, and clerks would run through any of the important documents to check for errors. Those days, however, are gone. With technology, businesses have started making the people in control of generating the documents also in control of editing them. This, I can say from experience, is a bad idea all around for the most part and creates more problems than it solves.
Fortunately, there are still people out there, myself included, who love to tackle precisely this kind of work and find it rewarding. I have, in my time, tackled everything from a technical proposal to personal correspondence. It’s a different style of writing, but it’s simple and straightforward which frees up other parts of the brain for more creative endeavors.
At some point in time, I will be uploading samples from my own work: old school papers, business documents, character sketches that haven’t been used yet or may never be used, current sketches, and sneak peaks at what I’m currently working on. The picture it creates is one which hopefully speaks not only to my own capabilities but gives you insight into yours. If I do nothing else with this blog, I hope I at least inspire you to read more widely, write more prolifically, and to claim your own creative spirit in whatever it is you are endeavoring to do.
K. B. Middleton, LLC 