A WRITER'S JOURNEY

Welcome! The goal of this blog is to chronicle my progress as a writer. It's been a long time coming. Many times I wanted to take the plunge and add my first post...but I didn't know what to blog about, other than my love of books and writing. So I put it on hold, hoping that someday I would be inspired to share my journey. That time has now come.

In the last two years, I've become more serious about my writing. Instead of leaving yet another first draft collecting dust in a drawer, I hunkered down and began to revise the YA fantasy I had written. It took me a while, but finally I had a second draft. I joined SCBWI and found lots of great resources for writers. Then, I had to make a decision: I could let this second draft sit in the drawer as well, never to see the light of day...or I could finally put my work out there.

I chose the latter option. And I was terrified. What if people hated what I'd written? What if I had no talent and I was just kidding myself? People had often commented on my writing skills, but could I write fiction?

Then a strange and wonderful thing happened. The writers I exchanged chapters with were not only encouraging, but they gave me amazing feedback on how to improve my story. Emboldened, I revised those first chapters, and then sent the full manuscript to a few other writers. Was it scary? Yes. Was it worth it? In more ways than I could have ever imagined. From that full manuscript exchange, I met two amazing, talented, uplifting women who are now regular critique partners. I also went on to find beta readers, whose feedback has been invaluable. I wrote another manuscript in one month during National Novel Writing Month, and I'm currently halfway through my WIP. I've learned so much about the writing process, and I know I have so much more to learn, but putting myself out there was the first big hurdle. And I'm glad I did it. I now know how important it is to connect with other writers, people who understand this crazy journey with all its ups and downs, heartaches, frustrations and joys.

And with my recent showing in Query Kombat, I'm inspired to share my progress.

This is my writer's journey. I hope you'll come along for the ride.