Happy New Year to everyone and thank goodness the holidays are done. We can all return to normal routines again. Of course, it is fun celebrating and people are nicer during the holidays but it is a stressful time also. Now of course, when you go to the gym it is packed full of New Year's resolutioners. I personally do not make resolutions during the New Year but try to make them throughout the year always to try and be happy or better my situation or even just get by.
In fact, as I looked back over 2011 that is why I started to write my first novel. Last year was a rather rough year for many people and I would be included in that list. I remember it was the end of July and I had already had the idea for my novel for a long while. Actually, I have ideas for many novels but I thought about this one idea the most. Sometimes it is easy to have a dream but the hard part is actually making it happen. I am sure many of the New Year's resolution people find that statement very true because usually by the end of January the gym is back down to the regulars and those that made their resolutions have gone back to their usual routines or have even forgotten they made a resolution. The hard part is doing the work.
For a writer like myself who wrote poems and short stories the idea of a novel was daunting. I had the idea but to actually start writing was a whole other issue. That is where the first word comes in handy. It was the end of July and it was very hot outside and I had the doldrums one day. I sat on my porch that evening and wondered what would make me happy when there is stress and frustration all around me. I went back inside and found a notebook. Luckily I keep notebooks and pens and paper always on hand. I went back outside and sat down at my porch table. My son was asleep inside and this was the time I usually took for myself. Of course if you sit there just thinking that can be dangerous.
Well, this night there was a light breeze for the first time all week and the stars were shining in the sky real bright. I opened my notebook and just started writing. I realized what I was writing was my novel and have not stopped since. It was starting the work of writing and making it part of my routine that helped get me through 2011 and made me realize another of my dreams in life. If you read my last blog you will see that I am also a single mother and I have a full time job so some of the hard part in writing is just finding a spare moment to do that. I have gotten a little better about finding those moments because I resolutely decided not to give up on this dream.
When you start to write your first novel it is exciting. One of the things I have noticed though is that most people encourage you and the ones that don't or try to make you face reality often ask, "So what kind of writer do you want to be?" Well, even if they are trying to throw ice cold water on your warm blanket dream it is an important question to ask yourself. So as I reviewed last year and my writing recently I thought about that very question:
"What type of writer did I really want to be?" or "Why do I really write?"
For me the simple answer was easy. I write because I have to. When you dig deeper into that though...ok I feel like I need a couch and Dr. Freud sitting over me with a notebook right now...but the answer may make you a better writer. At the end of the day we can not all be a Danielle Steele or J.K. Rowling. I use those examples because they too were single mothers fighting to pay bills and sat down and wrote and are now world renowned. In an ideal world we can all write one novel and then quit our job and become famous and rich and just spend our time writing and going to book readings of our own material. For me fame was not the end goal or why I write. Not that it would not be nice but really I write to entertain people. I do want people to read my work so I would like to be published. Some people write and have no intention or care for being published. I will admit I would like to be published and would love to be sitting on the train commuting into work one day and look over and see someone reading my novel. I realistically have kept that full time job but I also continue to write and love that I get to share it with a fellow commuter into work.
So the answer is that I write because it makes me happy and is a large part of myself and my personality and character but also because I would like to entertain and tell a story. I may not sell a million novels or get printed overseas or even make a lot of money but maybe there is at least one person out there who will read what I write and be entertained. I am a storyteller with a pen. I may not be as big as Paul Bunyan in the writing world and may ever only be as small as The Littles (one of my favorite cartoons when I was little about a family of mice) but I am writing and getting my stories out and now I know what kind of writer I want to be.
Warning: Writer has reached realization...prepare to be entertained. At least that is my wish. If you are not, well, don't worry I will continue to write and may win you over eventually. So, grab a comfortable chair, a warm cup of tea, and enjoy because I have a story for you to read.
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