Letters from Marilyn - Update 19

Happy Wednesday, loves!

I have been having a simply fabulous week. Why, you ask? Let's take a little life stroll before we get into the latest update on Letters from Marilyn. First, all of my 500+ student papers were graded in time for conferences. On the theatre front, I have written the blocking for my entire musical, audition and callbacks material is ready to go, the set is designed, and I have my first two weeks of rehearsals mapped out. And with life: I've had opportunities to see family, celebrate my sister's birthday, and time to catch up with people. Lots of love to all of you for the conversations and your good vibes. I enjoy hearing from everyone. Thank you world, things can only continue to go up from here. I'm excited to see what you have in store for me in the days, weeks, and months to come.

I also have some exciting news to share regarding Letters from Marilyn. I have a prospective literary agent, and am now in the stages of writing sample chapters to send to the agency (along with other agencies, of course!). One thing I love about writing is the flexibility it gives me, so I can continue to write remotely from wherever I like and still do all of the other things that I love: theatre, music, education, etc. It's hard to focus on just one thing when you have many things you are passionate about! It also gives me the flexibility to be both an introvert and an extrovert. I get the time to write, to reflect, and yet still get the time to talk with you, my close family and friends. So those of you I have had many conversations with recently these past few weeks or so (whether it be in person or via social media!) know that I appreciate and value you. Just hearing how you are doing makes my extrovert-heart happy. Now that things have settled down for me, I hope to spend more time focused on you.

Letters from Marilyn - Update 18

I'M WRITING A BOOK.

That sentence both excites and terrifies me. I'm. Writing. A. Book. The light at the end of this very long writer's tunnel is now visible to me, readers. I am so close, I can feel it.

Today I dragged out all of my college writing resources to brush up on how I want to approach writing Marilyn's story. Because readers, you have only seen a glimpse of her life and letters. I have shared here only what I feel is most important. Certainly Candid has included a snapshot of her life. Now the overarching goal is the full picture - including all of the historical components.

I struggle making monumental decisions like the style of this novel. Do I want to write it in 1st person, from Marilyn's point of view? Do I want to infuse my own life lessons and this journey into it, a la Julie and Julia? Do I want to switch perspectives and write from Jennie's (her mother's) point of view in alternating chapters? Or do I want it to purely be a story - written in the 3rd person, as a narrative of Marilyn's life at Augsburg?