Sunday, March 4, 2012

Where to start?

I almost find staring at the blank page on this blog more scary than the pages in my book.  It's been a long journey to create Always and Forever, my romantic suspense novel about a former socialite, accused of murder and trying to start over in a new life.  My journey's not over yet, and at times I'm overwhelmed.

I always thought writers were born, and that I could never be one. I thought some of us just may be destined to be readers, never imaginative enough to come up with the fascinating tales we love to live through that other people create. But some things are worth the work.

The first story I ever remember writing was titled My Pencil.  It was a first-grade project of a page-long tale about my pencil coming to life when I left school.  All the pencils got in a circle to play Farmer in the Dale and jump rope. I suppose my thinking was that my pencil was never where I thought it should be when I went to find it in the morning (though, more likely, that was due to my lack of organization).  I won first prize on that story, out of all the kids in first grade.  I later wrote stories about my friends, for their reading pleasure, while in middle school, but then the creative spark faded away, and I never thought of writing again for many years.

Five years ago, an idea came into my head, and it just wouldn't leave. I told it I couldn't help it, I wasn't a writer and couldn't become one. The story persisted, until it eventually interrupted my sleep and wreaked havoc on my thought process. I finally starting writing it down, just so I could function again. The fact was, I knew nothing about writing, and I went in search of information. I started taking every class I could afford, reading every article on writing that I came across.  The book made it to 150 pages before I ran out of things to write about.  I let that one go and started with the next one, and the next one, and the next one.  They all fizzled around 30,000 words.

That's when it clicked for me ... I was trying to write fantasy books, and I obviously didn't have one of those in my head.  That's when Lilly Price started speaking to me with the line that inspired the entire story, "Always and Forever."  The story has been a firm task mistress, commanding any spare time, keeping me awake at night, waking me early in the morning. My life has been consumed by Lilly and Zach, and it has been an amazing journey.

There is more to come, and I have a lot of work to do, but I've realized the most important lesson taught to every grade-school child is true--you can do anything you set your mind to.

13 comments:

  1. Welcome to blogging! You'll love it! Great starter post, the first one always feels weird typing it out.... You should participate in www.sixsentencesunday.com with me, it's a lot of fun!

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    1. Thanks Angela - I've actually been looking at the Six Sentence Sunday because of your blog. I'm going to try to figure it out. It looks like a lot of fun. I appreciate your comments and that you looked.

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  2. I happen to be one of the "lucky ones" who have read your awesome book! I love it and I am so excited to get a signed copy when you publish. You were born to be an author!

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    1. Thank you so much! I appreciate it, and really appreciate that you were an advanced reader to give me some courage to continue this journey. You're the best!

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  3. As a fellow neophyte blogger, aspiring writer... and someone who has been enjoying watching your story unfold, I look forward to following the journey to published book.

    Look forward to following your blog!
    Kimberly

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Thanks, Kimberly. I just clicked on your name and went to your blog. It is beautiful. Such interesting information, too! The pictures are fabulous!

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  4. This is so great Britt! I can't wait to read your novel!

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  5. Hurray! the first post is always the hardest. You feel so self-conscious. But I love that story about the Pencil. Yep, just like boyfriends, he's never there when you need him. :)

    By the way, I love Zach and Lilly. It's a great story and I can't wait to see it published. It'll be a blockbuster! And thanks for teaching me about internal thoughts. Yay!

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    1. You are too kind, Rachelle. Thank you so much about your comments on Always and Forever, and for being an advanced reader.

      Yeah, I was pretty proud of the pencil story back then - LOL.

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  6. Congrats on the blog Britt! Your first entry is perfect and I think you are heading for a successful career as a writer. Funny how our characters take over and pop those ideas on us. :) Look forward to more.

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