Adventures in Writing

So if you guys read my 100 Random Facts About Me post, you saw that I am currently writing a novel. I wanted to give you a little more info about that and talk about writing.

Writing is hard. Way harder than I thought it would be. I have the first draft of my book finished so am in revisions. I have an amazing critique partner who has helped me tons (You're awesome, Julz!), but sometimes it's just so overwhelming to look at my book and think "there are so many things I need to change/fix". Where do I even start? I've literally had days where I've stared at my manuscript for an hour and then just closed it. Fail. But I know that in the end, all the revisions will be worth it because I'll have a book worth reading. A book that I hope a lot of you lovelies will review someday.  

Writing is scary. Terrifying. When I first started writing, I told no one. I was scared that if I told people it would either jinx me or, if my book doesn't get published, I would get judgment. But then one day I decided, why should I hide something that I love and something that I'm so excited about? So I started telling people. My close friends and family first and now all of you wonderful people. If it doesn't get published (It will get published. I am determined.) it doesn't really matter what people think. I can still say that I wrote a book and pursued my dream. And if this book doesn't get published, it doesn't mean I quit. It means I either revise some more or start a new book. Because the more I write, the more I realize that this is what I want to do with my life. I love my characters. I love my story. Writing about my characters feels like hanging out with some really good friends. Now that I've started, there's no way I can stop. I feel like this is what I am supposed to be doing.

My desire to write stems from my love of reading. I used to write short stories when I was really young and then all through high school,  I loved writing poetry. I never wrote anything serious and I never shared any of it. It was just for me, but it was something that I loved doing. Then I stopped reading for awhile. College got in the way and in turn, stopped writing. A short time after I started this blog, I came up with the idea for the book I'm currently writing. I decided to plunge in. I was unemployed, still am. What did I have to lose? If I was going to do it, now was the time.

I've had a lot of authors that have inspired me to write. I follow a lot of them on Twitter and they are all so encouraging. It truly is a community and I am so happy to have found it. Authors like Lauren DeStefano, Jon S. Lewis, and Kami Garcia are constantly tweeting writing tips and encouragement. It feels good to know that the community and support is there. I can't wait for the day when I can join in that community and give encouragement to other aspiring writers.

Not that I can't do that now. If you're an aspiring writer, send me an email (lockhartbecca@gmail.com) or tweet me  (@LibraryCanary) and we can talk! I would love to talk to fellow authors and aspiring authors. If you're an aspiring writer and you don't have a critique partner yet, get one. It is the best thing that I have done. Having a critique partner has improved my writing so much, it's unbelievable. My book is unrecognizable from the first draft. It's changed so much and all for the better.

I realize that this is a lot of random ranting, but it feels good to get it all out. Are you an aspiring writer? Are you thinking about starting to write a book, but are too scared to take that plunge? Leave me a comment, send me an email (lockhartbecca@gmail.com), tweet me, or Facebook message me so we can talk!