from 1/5/2018
I've just put my first book out, and it was quite a journey. I finished writing it in February, 2017, and started the process of marketing it with the naive idea that it would be for sale by that summer. Now ten months later, it's finally out there for all (I hope) to read. In time I'll know whether it is a success -- lots of readers, good reviews, literary acceptance -- based on the accepted standards. But I have made my evaluation: writing sucked the life out of me...then breathed it back in!
I began writing after retiring from a thirty-five year career in teaching -- high school English! So I know something about getting the life sucked out. Kudos to every teacher -- but high school English teachers get a kudo plus. Imagine your class is half way through reading To Kill a Mockingbird, one of your top ten favorites, one of the high-motivation novels taught in school, and you end the discussion of the first part by asking the students what they expect in the rest of the story. After a moment's pause, a hand shoots up, and you eagerly call on the student attached to that hand for what you hope will be an insightful prediction. "Ms. Aden. They better start shootin' some mockingbirds pretty soon. The book is almost half over. And can I go to the lav?" Teachers really need to read the room!
Writing, I thought, would be all things positive. Relaxing, liberating, cleansing, creative, fun. And it was! But (to steal structure from Yoda since the latest Star Wars movie just came out) exhausting, frustrating, soul-crushing, isolating, emotional was it also!
Above all, though, it was therapeutic. In fact, the money I spent on supplies, how-to-books, self-publishing, and whatever future expenses may add up is probably less than I would have spent on a therapist! Perhaps it accomplished more than therapy would have, for though writing sucked the life out of me...it breathed it back in each time I finished a draft or revision and could see I accomplished something.
Now I'm beginning novel number two, and I invite you to take the journey with me -- all or part of it. In this blog, I'll be sharing some of what I write along with what might be more interesting--how the process goes. From first idea to first drafts to revisions to marketing to getting that life sucked out of me.
I'm writing. You can come along for the ride -- shotgun or backseat!
Enjoy!
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