Well, Friends, I was wrong.
In my last post, I wrote that by summer’s end I expected to be fully healed from breaking my wrist and the subsequent surgery. That is not the case. While I’m definitely doing much better with strength and range of motion, I still deal with quite a bit of soreness after cooking, cleaning, writing, exercising… pretty much after using my right hand for any length of time. But I’ve completed occupational therapy, and the surgeon assures me that by the end of 2025, I’ll be right as rain.
In the meantime, I am finally able to type with both hands again, so I am working to get back on track with a writing routine!
Thankfully, my injury did not prevent me from participating in lots of travel this summer!
My husband (Adam) and I kicked off the summer with our annual beach trip with Adam’s family. It’s always a fun time catching up and breaking bread together. Our beach trip would not be complete without a stop at the local book store, Bethany Beach Books, which often hosts book signings by different authors. This year, I met Brenda Novak, who is known for her contemporary romance novels.
I was encouraged to learn that it took Brenda five years to hone her craft and write her first novel. (In the 20 years since, she has written more than 100 books!) And Brenda is not the only one for whom it has taken multiple years to complete novel #1. I have heard from at least a dozen published authors that this timeline is to be expected, especially the first time around.1
This is good news for me, since we are approaching four years since I left my steady income and benefits to pursue writing full-time. Thank you for hanging in there with me as I put in the necessary time to get this right!
Other highlights from our travel this summer include attending two Club World Cup matches, one in Philadelphia and one in Cincinnati. The Club World Cup—not to be confused with the country World Cup—is a soccer tournament for the top club teams on the planet. Since the Club World Cup was hosted by the United States this year, and I married someone whose favorite sport is soccer, there was no way we were not attending!2
Both were short trips, but a lot of fun!
The biggest highlight of our summer travel for me, though, was a nine-day harbor cruise that took us from Bangor, Maine, down to Portland, stopping at a different harbor town almost every day.
I learned how to shuck my own oysters…and that I actually like oysters.
Being near Stephen King’s stomping grounds, I finally read his memoir, On Writing, during the trip. This book has been quoted and referenced so many times, I could not imagine getting “new” advice out of it. But it was extremely useful and inspiring. Now I know why it remains on most (if not all) must-read lists for writers 20 years after its original publication.
One of my favorite bits of insight from On Writing, is about the use of adverbs. King says, “I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops.”
He notes that the use of too many adverbs is a signal that the writer is coming from an insecure or timid mindset, afraid that he or she is not getting the point or picture across to the reader.3
After reading these insights, of course I had to go back and check my own work-in-progress for offenses. Sure enough, I found some adverbs lurking.
Here’s an example of one of the problematic sentences I identified:
Rose heard the slap of the screen door at the back of the house and quickly plunged the ring into the pocket of her dress.
Now, here it is without the pesky adverb:
Rose heard the slap of the screen door at the back of the house and plunged the ring into the pocket of her dress.
Not the best sentence I’ve written so far, but it’s such an improvement! I think it’s safe to assume that when the time comes, you—my readers—will not need the adverb “quickly” to gather what is happening with Rose and that ring! After all, nobody plunges slowly.
We met many, many wonderful people on the cruise from all over the country—including our own backyard of Pittsburgh! It really was a special trip, and I’ve come home more inspired than ever!
It seemed to be a “summer of travel” not just for Adam and me, but for several people I know! Did you see or do anything unique this summer? If so, what were your favorite parts?
I’ll share more on getting closer to completing Draft #1 of my novel—my “sh**ty first draft,” as Anne Lamott might call it—in my next update!
In the meantime, thank you again for reading and enjoy the rest of the autumn season!
Until next time,
Patty
It took my mom 40 years to finish writing the first volume of her book, Not By Bread Alone. It’s a Bible-based cookbook, and she decided to publish it here on Substack, one section at a time! Check out her story here.
Yes, we already have tickets to the 2026 World Cup, where 48 countries from around the world will compete in a massive soccer tournament held in 16 cities throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada. (Find the full schedule and other details on the FIFA website if you want to join—or avoid—the fun!)
King says he can “be a good sport about adverbs,” unless they are part of dialogue tags (the phrases that attribute dialogue to the speaker, like “she said” or “he whispered”). He pleads with writers not to include sentences like: “Put it down!” she shouted menacingly. The reader should be able to gather from context how something was said or done without requiring the extra explanation. I generally agree, but I have to admit that I found J.K. Rowling’s use of adverbs to be endearing in the Harry Potter books.
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