Black & White

Dear Diary,

Goal setting is always a big deal at the start of each year.  I fail miserably at it, yet I make an attempt each year to push new habits upon myself.  Hopefully, the kind of habits that make me a better person.  I deal with everything best if logic is involved.  It would be so simple if my world was black and white.  But maybe that's why I always fail.  I set the bar too high for myself.  As I start the new year, I have a few basic goals.  Organize my house and get fit.  I'm taking a goal from an old friend and plan to run a 5K or 10K each month this year.  Then I have the biggy . . . write.  I started writing a few weeks ago and I learned a couple things.  One, it calms me.  On the tougher days, I write to vent (those writings I don't plan to share).  And two, I learned writing isn't about my logical blacks and whites.  It's all about the grays.  Somehow, at a half century, I am figuring out about the middle ground.  To me it's the reason for certain actions.  If you create a character in a book, they could be a villain or that damsel in distress (though never in my book), but there is something in all of them that is dark and another part that is hope.  The question is . . . can I write a book that defies my logic and creates a great story?  Will my characters still be loved in spite of their bad parts?  Because isn't that what we all want?  To be loved in spite of our oddities.  I'm learning the grays may not be so bad and I hope I actually succeed at this book writing goal for 2016.