As with any new project, the hardest part is always the beginning. Once you put the words down, the rest tend to line up without fuss.
Well, mostly.
I've been a writer since I was a teen. I loved reading and looked forward to picking up the classics whenever I got the chance. Getting a library card as a pre-teen was like winning the lottery. As with many people, life took a few unfortunate turns and I dealt with a number of losses in my life so I departed from the lands of the unknown and fell into the routine of work and bills. In time, I lost myself to that world, unaware of the ache in my soul still longing for the realms just beyond. Then one day, I looked up and saw my 40th birthday looming before me and I realized it had been years...decades since I had followed the stories that still danced along my peripheral vision while going about my day.
I made up my mind then and there to give myself a special gift for the coming b-day: I would either write a book at long last or admit to myself that it wasn't in the cards and give up on this dream altogether.
I wrote the book one word at a time, agonizing over every sentence and every strained chapter. Not the best novella ever written, but much better than I thought I could accomplish after so many years of playing with short stories that were inspired less and less.
Since leaving that fateful birthday behind me I have written a new (self-published) book every year and have used CreateSpace for publication. A self publishing company, yes. But also affiliated with Amazon, so I can direct friends and family to the listing. Vanity press or not, it's nice to see your book made available for all the world to see. My writing has improved much and I've rediscovered my passion from many years ago.
Today, I continue to work every day and write whenever I get the chance. The weekends are split between hikes along the California trails and writing. I enjoy my writing more than I could have hoped and love to share each of my tales with as wide a circle of friends as I can.
I recently chose to start a blog, and just like with my first book, the hardest part is beginning. I look forward to sharing what I can as I continue developing as a writer. This is just the beginning, so thankfully, as I close, it is with clear understanding that the hard part is over.
