10-11-12

The Journey Begins…

 I’ve finally taken the leap… to start writing.
Wait, I take that back. I’ve actually been writing for as long as I can remember.
Let me try again.
I’ve finally taken the leap…to start writing…publicly.

That’s a very important word. Publicly. I choose to say I’m writing publicly because I don’t think it sounds too scary. The dictionary only says it’s, “in a manner accessible to or observable by the public.” If I had instead chosen to say I’ve started writing professionally, that would be completely different. Profession is defined as, “an activity pursued as a livelihood, career, employment, occupation.” Professional as an adjective means, “having or demonstrating a high degree of knowledge or skill.” Now those ideas scare me. I don’t plan on my writing making me rich or famous. I also don’t presume that it will be perfect, much less good, fair, or even liked by others. I simply want to share my thoughts and feelings in writing with others and get their feelings and thoughts in return. This is why I say I am now writing publicly, not professionally. In my opinion there’s a big difference between the two.

So I go public on 10-11-12. I hope the rhythm of the date is a good sign of a smooth ride ahead. I hope my readers will be honest, but respectful. No growth or good can come from hurtful or rude remarks. But constructive criticism is helpful and welcomed as I journey on this new adventure of making my writing public. Ultimately, I want to write my own novel. But this has proved to be a painfully slow process so far. I hope by blogging about my writing experience I can gain support and gather advice from friends, family, fellow indie authors and their online community. As my own book takes shape, I’ll also be blogging about the books I read, both newly discovered, as well as old favorites. I hope that by doing this it will sharpen my writing skills, help me relearn some grammatical rules, and make me think critically about what I like and don’t like in a story. In the end, I hope all of this will lead to the creation of a better experience for my readers when my final project is completed. And I hope that all the hope I speak of now will someday become reality.

So please, join me on my journey. I would love to have some company along for the ride.