Decisions, Decisions...

Welcome back to Taylor Talks!

Today was such a lovely Sunday! We didn't do anything extravagant, but it was so nice to be able to accomplish a few errands and spend time with the family.

My brother and little sisters were excited to go to the park with my dad, while my sister and I went out to run a few errands. It's very rare that my mom is left alone, so I'm sure that she and the dogs appreciated the quiet house for the short time that no one else was home. When we were all home again, it was very calm for some strange reason. Usually the girls are yelling while they play, or tablets are blaring in every room, but everyone was just content to play with each other and have a good afternoon. Even dinnertime was quiet, but I think that's because everyone couldn't eat fast enough... we somehow all forgot to eat lunch and were starving!

I was also able to figure out plans for tomorrow, and I'm excited to be going down to Disney to see someone from back home. As I mentioned yesterday, our plans to meet up for dinner last night had to be cancelled, so I'm happy that we'll still get to see each other while she's down here on vacation. It will be so nice to catch up, although I do feel kind of guilty going to Disney without my whole family... I guess that's what happens when you're the oldest of six; you're so used to doing things as a pack that it feels strange to do things on your own. Oh well, I'm sure everyone else will get to Disney soon enough, and I'm happy to be going for the company, no matter where we would have been meeting up.

In other news, I was able to get a little bit of writing done today. Well, yes, I did get a little bit of writing done, but I mostly just planned. I was working on my new children's book, and some of the most basic parts of the story were giving me trouble, so I couldn't move on to the actual writing stage quite yet. If you remember, a while back I had posted a poll asking for help choosing a name for my main character. Well as it turns out, I decided to turn the main character into two main characters: sisters. I figured out both of their names, partially with help from the amazing readers who voted in the poll, and details like their ages. Although I don't have every specific part of the plot line nailed down, I do have the basic idea for what the book is going to be about. But then I realized that I needed some supporting characters, for starters, a family for the two girls. That's when I started running into problems.

For some reason, names were really giving me a problem with this story. I mean, it took forever to nail down the perfect name for one main character, and then I made it more difficult for myself when I added a second main character. Alright, it was hard, but I finally figured those out. Now, I need a last name for the family, and I cannot for the life of me think of anything. I keep jotting down ideas to see if anything sparks a better name, but so far I've got nothing. So then I moved on from that for a while. I thought about giving the girls another sibling to round out the family. Then I couldn't decide if I truly needed a younger sibling, and if I did, should it be a little brother or another sister? So many decisions to make!

So what did I do? I took to social media again to poll my readers. If you follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, you may have already seen a post asking you to vote and help me make a decision. If not, I'm including a poll on tonight's post to help me determine if I should add a younger sibling to the book. I hope you'll take a few seconds to vote below, because so far I've been getting mixed results and I still don't know what to do! Luckily, I do have a few names written down for boys and girls, so I'll be able to pick a name pretty easily if I do end up adding a little family member.

It's so much fun writing stories because I get to invent these lives that I make every decision for, but sometimes it's a lot to take in. I'm sure that a story would be great whether or not I gave my main characters a younger sibling, but to me it makes a big difference in how that story plays out. On top of that, I've been wrestling with some ideas for other stories about these two sisters, so I have to make sure I know everything about them before I can turn an idea for one book into a little series of books about them. I know, I'm getting ahead of myself, but my brain works much faster than my hands can write! This is why I keep notebooks with me at all times and have a bunch of notes on my cellphone. Ideas pop up all over the place, at random times, and even the tiniest incomplete thought can turn into something great unexpectedly. It's one of the joys of writing.

Your continued support means the world to me. From foster care to novels, and family to work experiences, I look forward to sharing more of my life with you each day. Don't hesitate to share your own stories with me or ask me questions about my life. Please don't forget to like and share my Facebook author page as well!

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Thanks!
Taylor

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