#200

Harper Lee had one book published, To Kill a Mockingbird, which is approximately 100 books less than the grand total (and counting) of Danielle Steel, but I don’t think anyone would argue over who is the better writer. It is the classic argument for quality over quantity, something that is still as true today as it was at the beginning of time.

I write. It is what I do, even if I’m not yet getting paid for it. Right now I get paid by the responses of people who get to read my work. That’s why it’s so interesting to be editing my novel right now, a work that only two people have read besides me, to this point. I’ll tell you that it’s odd, but I know that this time spent with it before it is available to the masses helps to make it a more quality product. Throughout my writing life, some 25 odd years, I’ve written a total of six novel-length works, more than 100 short stories, over 200 poems, and a host of other odds and ends. But this novel, it is the culmination of five years of love and labor.

And on the opposite end of the spectrum is Sam’s Online Journal. The writing I do here is mostly introspective, and since I’m creative it comes off as artsy on occasion, but that is rarely my intention. However, since I still focus on quality, I like to think most of what I write here is good quality. The side effect of writing introspectively, though, is that I have a million thoughts a minute and I need to get them out. Hence, the quantity just rises as well.

That’s why, even though I started this blog on November 30th of last year, I am proud to announce that this is my 200th blog entry. It’s crazy how it has snuck up on me, actually, because it wasn’t a milestone I was trying to achieve. I am proud of it, though, but not because of the sheer volume. It’s because each one of those blog entries says something about me. It is a personal journey, but it is shared as well.

So thank you for traveling with me over the course of these 200 entries. I hope you continue to do so. And I will continue to do my best to be a Harper Lee instead of a Danielle Steel (I love her new book, by the way).

Sam