My Story

 

    Today I'm going to share some of my personal writing history with you, in hopes that it will help someone.  This post will be useful to any aspiring writers who are having trouble getting started writing, or any writers who are having trouble getting started on a project.  

    My whole young life, I was supposed to be a writer when I grew up.  Everyone thought that I would be, including myself.  Somehow though, I got caught up in a headgame where I was convinced that I needed to have the entire story outlined, all dialog mapped out, and the story basically written before I could begin writing my novel.  It sounds crazy to me as I write this now, but that is what I believed, so I know that there must be others out there who believe the same thing.  You have to have your novel basically written, before you start writing.  lol  Well, I never could manage to find the time to begin all of the work that I imagined I must do to begin writing my book, so it never got written.

    Once I learned that I could just start writing, I wrote my first novel in about four months, and now I'm half way through the sequel, which will be published sometime this summer.  My advice to all of you aspiring writers out there, is to write.  Put it down, get it out, then get some real HONEST criticism.  That is key.  You don't need anyone telling you lies about your work, no matter how much they love you, or how well-meant the lies may be.  You need honest, even if painful, truth to grow and prosper as a writer.  In this day and age, it is too easy to publish bad work, and waste a lot of your time, energy, and even money putting out unsatisfactory work.  There are scores of unscrupulous marketers out there who will take your money to promote your work, but the hard truth is that only good books sell.  If you are dead set on becoming a writer, you need to improve, and that takes honesty from the people reading it.  Amazon is flooded with self-published work that is mediocre at best.  Don't be that person.  Get some good criticism and let your work shine.

    My final point will be that writing should make you happy.  If it feels like work, well maybe you should rethink your career as a writer.  You have to love it and love isn't work.  You should find what you love to do, whether it be writing or something else, and pursue that.  If you love your work, you will never work a day in your life.  Life is too short to spend our valuable time doing something that we hate, no matter what anyone says.  Also, if you love your work, it will show.  Writers who love to write, are better than those who hate it.  Love shines through everything, from ditch digging to brain surgery.  Love it or leave it is my motto on work.

    I hope someone got something out of this.  I do love to write, so I write on Sunday mornings to no one.  lol  As always, I hope you're having a great day and Happy Writing!