I started writing at the age of thirteen. I wrote out 103 pages long hand (spelling most words horrendously incorrectly) and I just knew it was the greatest thing since Shakespeare. Over the next two years, as I read over my work, I realized... I had a long way to go. Friends and family would say that it reminded them of this book or of that book, and they were right. My story was borderline plagiarism. From that moment on every time I sat down to write I stopped and thought, Oh no... this has been done before. I'm no good. This was my first experience with writers doubt. Yes, many writers go through this. We write a new story and feel passionate about it. It's exciting, fresh, and daring. Even so, somewhere down the road, we hit a road block. I would say this it the real “writers block”. It's not that we can't think of what to write next, but that we fear what we want to write. The book I'm currently writing made me feel overjoyed and I couldn't stop talking about it with my sister. I'd never written anything like it. Then I reached page 100. By this point is where the writer's doubt attacks. I started thinking that it sounded too much like other books. People would think I stole the idea or even that I had zero imagination, since it was like all the others. It made me want to cry. It was my sister who talked me off the ledge. She rolled her eyes with her sweet smile and said, “You always say that.” I stared at her for a few seconds and realized she was right. I did always say that. What I came to realize was that yes, my story did sound similar to others, but all stories are inspired by similar things. There's always the protagonist, antagonist, comic relief, and love interest. There's a crime that needs solving or a world that needs saving. It wasn't about me taking ideas, but how I used those ideas and made them my own. I have a friend who I haven't seen or spoken with in many years. He is currently reading my story story which I posted on my blog. I had every reason to believe no one was reading it, so when he sent me an e-mail out of the blue telling me how much he was enjoying it, it made my heart swell. All that doubt I'd felt had been for nothing. He could be the only person in the world reading my short story, but at least he has been entertained. That is success. That is a personal win. We as writers need to have faith in ourselves. Our stories are our own and deserve to be read, even if only by a few. Start your story, take ideas from everywhere, and make it your own. It may not be the next bestseller, but it will touch someone somewhere. It will spark a reader's imagination, inspire another writer, or help you grow in your writing until you do write that bestseller. So, writer's doubt? Forget about it. It's all in your head, just like it is in mine. We are storytellers. We make dark days gain new life. Polish your story and make it fresh.
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I get most of my inspiration from watching everyday people. No, I'm not staring at people all day long like a creeper. But when I'm out and hear someone asking a store employee for directions or a mother parenting her daughter, their unique speech patterns or body language can spark an idea.
People are inspiring. I often wonder where people are going. What brought them to the same place I'm at? Are they happy? Late? Did they recently move or are they going on vacation tomorrow? It is always a mystery. I asked my Instagram followers to write a 100 word story about a stranger they were inspired by. I shared mine with them. It was so fun stretching my writing muscles before getting back to my current work in progress. Writing little stories helps me warm up. Writing a novel is no joke. Find inspiration everyone! Write a 100 words story and get to work! We've all been there. At least, I hope we have. Please tell me I'm not the only one who stopped reading a book before reaching the ending. I tried to finish it! I really did! Let me explain why I finally made the choice to quit.
First off, the protagonist bored me from page ONE! That's never a good sign. Still, I soldiered on, determined to love the book. However, with each passing word, she only got WORSE! I felt like the author tried to make her both Bella Swan and Katniss Everdeen. It confused me. One moment she was meek and afraid, the next she was fearless and charging into battle. The massive contrast wasn't believable. Secondly, the premise sounded epic. I was ready to fall into a world of assassins and fear. Instead, it felt like I was watching a cheesy game of hide and seek. Add an annoying love triangle that felt one sided (sometimes a love square), and the book lost me. I'm not here to bash this book. That isn't the point of this blog post. What I am here to say is that I wanted to love the book. I wanted to finish it. I tried to give it a chance. In the end, I couldn't reach the end. I felt like a failure. This was the first book I'd picked up in months. I was determined to find my reading groove again. So when that book failed me, it almost physically hurt. Was it me? Was I no longer a book lover? If I quit before finishing did that mean I hated reading? But I'm here to tell you that I still love to read! That book wasn't the book for me. Not too long after making the choice to quit the book, I found another book that gripped my attention. The butterflies returned. I am SO EXCITED TO READ THIS BOOK! I realized, not every book is going to be for me, and that is okay. My novels won't be for everyone, and that's okay. Every story has a home somewhere. I'm thrilled I found the story that was meant to sit on my nightstand, waiting to be picked up at the end of a long day. What does the next chapter hold?
No one's life simply starts. Even if the story is about a baby. Well... who are the parents? What makes this baby so special? The story wouldn't start with the back story of the mom and dad. That isn't important. That would be a snooze-fest for the reader. The story is about the baby, so start with the baby. Start with the mother going through labor. Throw the reader into a dramatic birth. The mother won't stop bleeding or the baby is breech. This will suck a reader in. That is the beginning that will make the reader's heart ache. In the back of the writer's mind they will know who the parents are and maybe something in their life will come forward later in the story. Save that.
Beginnings don't have to be scary. I have a blast writing beginnings. In my opinion it is the best part. That is the start of a new world. New characters. It is the beginning that expands the imagination. Just start. The story will flow from fingertips to paper. Starting from the middle works for all types of writing. Novels, short stories, poems, even lyrics. Start in the middle and the rest will fall into place. Being a writer is hard work. No, I mean like it kind of sucks sometimes. If I had known how difficult it was I probably wouldn't have dreamed of becoming one. When I was a young teenager I wanted to watch the first Harry Potter movie which, at the time, was the only Harry Potter movie. My dad told me I needed to do something else to "stimulate my mind". I was thirteen and wanted my fill of Potter for the week, so you can imagine I wasn't pleased. So, in my passive-aggressive way of getting even, I decided to read the book instead! How shocking! I sat in my closet and opened to a random page. That was the moment everything changed for me. I loved the way the words flowed together and how it almost felt like a song. It inspired me.
After my first attempt at writing a novel (longhand on loose-leaf paper) I learned I had, well, a lot to learn. Fast forward to my thirties, and I'm still learning. I have come a long way. I've read countless books of all kinds, attended book festivals and conventions, written and re-written and RE-written, and have received heart wrenching rejections from agents. By now I would have given up, but I can't. My current novel I am trying to publish is titled Fitzgerald. I started writing the book from an old journal entry I wrote in my creative writing class. The teacher projected a painting on the screen of a child in a closet with toys lining a shelf. A light shining in the room cast the toys shadows on the wall, making them look like scary monsters. With this picture, we were suppose to write anything that inspired us. Never did I think that page and a half journal would one day inspire an entire novel. Things about it have since been tweaked, but that's what happens when you're a writer. The book is a Young Adult take of "the monsters in your closet". In my novel, there are monsters in your closet, just not how you expected. Do you like evil queens, worlds within worlds, mysterious strangers, and sassy side-kicks? If you answered 'yes' to one or more than my book is for you. I'm not a one trick pony, however. I love writing YA contemporary, but I also love Sci-fi. Even though I'm focusing on getting Fitzgerald published, that doesn't mean I haven't written other things. I have the classic alien Sci-fi and also a Steampunk novella. I even have a romantic YA book with the bare bones of an idea. Writing is my passion, and even though I may not be recognized by the literary world yet, that doesn't mean I'm not going to be. My plan is to push on, get noticed, and get published. I'm wanting to share my talent and have people say, "Now this girl can write!" If you would like a taste of my writing style before my novel, you can read my steampunk novella, Sad, Brown Eyes. It's available as an ebook on Amazon. The people on this planet will forever look back on 2020 with disdain.
That's the truth. There were fires, earthquakes, civil rights movements, and the pandemic. People have every right to look back on 2020 and feel nausea rise in their chests. If someone invented the "flashy thing" from Men In Black, people would line up to use it. And that makes me sad. Yes, even I have had my fair share of heartache in 2020. Fear, anger, sorrow, and disappointment are only a few of the negative feelings I have dealt with. However, I acknowledge that I have felt joy, pride, excitement, and wonder. Let's focus on the feeling of wonder for a moment. This past year, as I witnessed all the chaos in our world, I felt wonderment. Remember the Great Depression? World War 2? Segregation? Even September 11th. Bad things have happened across the world in the past. The way I see it, those moments became part of those men and women. They grew old and told their tale to their children and grandchildren. But, that's just it. It was only part of their story. How many happy stories did they have to share? Children were born, weddings happened, vacations were taken. My Disney trips aren't the only things to happen to me, and they won't be the last. I have so many stories to share and I'm only 31 years old. 2020 isn't the end. It's part of your story. It's part of my story. It is hard now, but I'm excited to share my experience with my grandchildren someday. I'm excited to watch their faces light up and tell me what a cool life I got to live. And they'll be right. My life is only starting. This year, I welcomed a son amidst all the horror. He was part of the multitude of good this year had to offer. Think about this... If the pandemic never happened, would this year really seem that different than 2019? 2018? 2017? I will forever be grateful for the things I learned in 2020. This year will live in infamy, but oh what a time to be alive nevertheless. Enjoy the remainder of 2020. May it be a highlight of your tale. This week I wanted to get everyone's opinions on self-publishing. For years now I've been trying the traditional publishing route. I've wanted to stay away from self-publishing. It kind of freaked me out and it wasn't really something I was interested in. I'd heard a lot of stories about how it's not really the best road to take. But lately I've been thinking about it and I realized all of these stories I hear have been from people who've done traditional publishing. Whether they be authors who have done it this way or they are the agents and the editors and the publishers themselves.
So, it kind of got me thinking... is this really a bad choice? I thought, Maybe I'll just publish my novella. Then I thought, Well, maybe I should publish my novel. I've been trying to get it published for so long. I know some people say, "Well, if the agents and the publishers are all saying no then its probably no good and you should scrap it and start over again." I've scraped a lot of books. I've started some and realized these are no good. I have finished some and realized these are no good. But this novel I feel is GOOD! It's different and maybe that's why a lot of the agents are saying, "Thanks, but, no thanks." But my novel is different in a good way. My villain is one of the best things I've ever written. People just don't seem to understand, or don't want to understand, or they just don't care. I've been thinking about it and I don't want to scrap it. I want to publish it, but it's been years now and no one wants it. So... I'm thinking maybe I should self-publish. Would this be a good idea? Has anyone else self-published? What are your thoughts on that? If you have traditionally published how did you go about doing that? How long did it take you? I'm considering self-publishing my book. I'm nervous about it, but, sometimes you gotta get out of your comfort zone. You just gotta go for it, right? You gotta do what scares you and hopefully it works out. Take chances. Hope for the best. Exhaust every single possibility and then exhaust every other possibility. You should never give up on your dreams. I'm definitely not going to. I hope that other people can give me some advice. I hope this helped you not give up and to always push forward. Don't be afraid!
Take chances! People have given this advice tons of times; they have given it to me tons of times. And yet... I have never actually taken any of this advice. Until... 2015. When I went to Dragon*Con in Atlanta, there was this writing panel that I really wanted to go to. It talked about the industry, it talk about writing YA books... it was everything that I needed to-- wanted to hear!-- right at this moment in my career. And so I rushed to try to find this panel. My husband and I ran all over two different hotels, across tons of busy streets with tons of sticky nerds trying to find the panel. And then, there it was! We finally found it! I was so excited! And there was a sign outside the door the said... Panel Full. ... Uh... okay.... I was so irritated. I was tired. My feet were hurting that day because I wore the wrong shoes to this sort of convention. I was so upset and my husband could just see it in my eyes. I. Was. Furious! Not too long later, a man and his son came by and saw this dreadful sign.... Yeah. Panel still full. They had the same looks on their faces that I had. It was really irritating that we traveled really, really far, crossing all these busy streets with tons of people everywhere just to be told that the panel was full. Well, my husband, being the wonderful man that he is, told me that I should go in anyway, and stand in the back. Sit on the floor. DO SOMETHING! In my head, the type of person I am is, "No, it says the panel is full. It says I shouldn't go in. I can't go in. IT'S FULL! But he would not listen to me. My husband went over to the door, he opened it, peeped inside and said, "Yeah, there's people standing in the back, we should go stand in the back." By this point the man and his son had left with sad faces and I did not want to leave with a sad face. So, my heart beating, everything in my head saying, "No! You're not supposed to go into the panel!" I went into the panel. And you know what happened? It was okay. I went in. I stood in the back really quietly and just paid close attention to what the panelists were saying. I listened to every single word and even by the end of the panel I asked a question which was answered for me. Afterwards, I stood out in the hallway with my husband and just thought, Nobody kicked me out. It said panel was full but they didn't kick me out. I just got very valuable information that could possibly help me progress my journey of publication. I was dumbfounded. I could not believe it! And what I learned from it, aside from all of the information that the panelists had to give, was I should take chances. You need to take chances to further your career. Go outside of your comfort zone. I have a feeling that if I continuously step outside of my comfort zone more opportunities will open up. I will have more chances of getting published. My dreams may come true if I take more chances. Don't worry about what other people say. I'm still working on this myself. But by just being me and being the person that I want to be and following my dreams I have already felt this huge weight lift off my shoulders. All because I don't care and I take chances. My advice is, if you love writing then you should write. Write in your own way. Put you on the page. No one knows your style better than you. So take chances. Go on out right now. I want you to go out and take a chance. Take a chance and make your dreams come true. Sarita Day: I have some very exciting news! Today I have a special guest interview. I'm pleased to introduce, straight from New Tuscany, Juliana Russo! How are you today, Juliana?
Juliana: I'm great, Sarita. Thanks for having me. Sarita Day: I'm happy you're here. Did you know that you're my first character interview on my blog? Juliana: Really? I'm honored. Thank you. Sarita Day: Pleasures all mine. I'm excited for my readers to get to know you a little better. So, let's get down to it. First off, how do you pronounce your name? Juliana: I get this a lot when people read my name. It's Juli-aa-naa. Sarita Day: Beautiful name. I love it. So you live in a world that's completely frozen. Snow all the time. How is it living in such a frozen world? Juliana: To be honest I don't have an answer. That's all I know. To live in a warm world seems so bizarre. Sarita Day: I can understand that. I'm from Texas so snow is practically foreign to me. Okay the, can you tell me what its like living alongside mechanical animals? Juliana: The Anichanicals are great! They are quite expensive, though. My father gave me mine for my eighth birthday. I could hardly believe it. When I say they are expensive I mean they are expensive. My father was a wealthy man but... they are expensive. Sarita Day: *laughs* I'm guessing they are expensive. *both share laughter* Tell me more about your parents. What is your relationship with them? Juliana: My parents disappeared when I was young. I still don't have a clue as to what happened to them. But I loved them. They never told me I could not do something. I loved history and the idea of animals... can you imagine a world with living animals? It is mind boggling. Most kids didn't think twice about them but I did and my parents were proud of my wonder. My father gave me books. Tons of books. I love books. Sarita Day: We share that interest. Juliana: That's great. Books are my entire life. Books about anything, but my favorite is science. Biology. History. Okay, I don't think I have a favorite. Anyway, I am grateful to have had parents who praised my curiosity, even when it got me into trouble. Sarita Day: Did you even get other kids in trouble? Juliana: Oh yes. My dear friend Nathaniel was always getting me out of trouble. Not that he didn't like helping cause the trouble. Sarita Day: Are you and he an item? Juliana: Nathaniel? Oh God no. No, he's my friend. I'm not interested in anyone. My job and hobbies keep me busy. Sarita Day: What is something most people don't know about you? Juliana: That I secretly write poetry. Sarita Day: Oh really? Juliana: Most people know I love to study and go on adventures by myself but sometimes when everyone is asleep I like to write random words down. Most of my poems don't even rhyme. I just like putting my thoughts on paper. Sarita Day: That's great. I love words. They bring me peace. Juliana: Peace and happiness. That's hard to find for me these days. I've had a good life growing up with Nathaniel and his father but it is hard not having parents. It's had not knowing what happened to them. Sarita Day: Have you even tried searching for them? Juliana: I've never seen another city outside of New Tuscany. I would love to someday travel the world but it's not easy at the moment. Sarita Day: Where would you like to travel? Juliana: I goodness, there are so many places. I'd say New Paris first. There are so many reasons why but, I mean, it's such a lovely city. Who couldn't want to visit New Paris? Sarita Day: I know I want to visit Paris. I wonder what it's like during the Freeze. Juliana: My world and your world are very different. Sarita Day: True fact, Juliana. Okay, I have to wrap things up but before you go I have a very important question for you. Juliana: I'm all ears, Sarita. Sarita Day: Here it is.... What is you favorite color? Juliana: *giggles* Oh thank you for asking that. This is investigatory work. I'd say my favorite color is green. I love green probably because the world is mostly white and the idea of rolling green hills sparks something in me. Oh yes, I love green. Sarita Day: Thank you for being here, Juliana Russo. This has been a blast. Juliana: I'm happy I was able to answer your questions for your readers. I love being a part of Sad, Brown Eyes. Sarita Day: Thank you. And thank you, readers, for tuning in and learning more about my character, Juliana. She was a joy to write and I hope you all enjoy reading her story. |