It’s All in The Writing

As I am adding the final touches to my next novel before I submit it, I finally get a chance to write a blog post again. For the first time in a while, I can reflect over the past year since my first novel was published and I realize that there is a post I need to make for those wondering, and all those who have asked about my writing. This will hopefully give some insight into the process of writing and the obstacles.
Now firstly I have to explain that I was molded into a writer by a combination of my personality, my composition and mostly life. When I was younger telling stories and entertaining people with my jokes, was not only an escape for me from life stresses, but a way to make people forget about their troubles and put smiles on their faces. Making people happy is the unfortunate result of my own turmoil I went through. This developed into writing poems, keeping journals and more importantly daydreaming to flee my surroundings when they became too much to bear, or they bored me.
The problem with daydreaming is that you develop a certain skill where you are able to conjure up stories out of thin air for your own entertainment and at some point, you start writing stories you can control instead of reading ones you can’t. For the past almost eighteen years I have not read any fictional literature, because I wanted to stay authentic to my writing style.
And no, I did not start writing because someone inspired me.
Everyone was surprised when they found out I had published one of my stories. Most thought I only started writing recently. I have been writing my whole life, but kept it private. It was only my partner that knew and eventually nudged me to submit my novel.
For those who want to follow this path I have this to say. Find the reason you write if you want to find fulfillment from writing. Write about what you know. If you are writing for financial gain, you might be disappointed. It is a long process of a deep commitment to producing a good quality book. And, except if you are a trust fund baby, or have enough riches to support you while you walk the long path of getting your books and name out into the world, you will need an income to support yourself. I have a full-time job and when I am actively writing I have to write, after a long day at work, deep into the night.
Remember you are always in competition with millions of books in your genre. And even if you have a successful book your book might do well for a short while and then the next book will come along. For me personally, I write to entertain myself and anyone who gives me the opportunity to, by reading my writing. Mostly I write because I really have no choice. My stories haunt me daily, they mill around in my head, and I know that I will not be satisfied until they spill over onto paper, the only difference now is that I actually share them. Below I leave a poem I wrote years ago about the predicament I find myself in.
Revelation

I think it is time, to reveal my soul.
For years it’s been hidden, nurtured and fed.
My path I’ve walked, deep waters I’ve tread.
This is me; this makes me whole.

Thoughts, ideas, whirlwinds of words
Bubbling over, escaping its nest
Containing more difficulty, I could ever expect.
With a nurturing touch, a passion was bred.

Maturity culminating, my veins to be bled.
A writer’s mentality in secret was kept.
This is it, bare of its walls.
To share some words with my fellow souls

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