beka-j-shaw:

Just write.

Yeah, I know, it sounds simple, but trust me I’ve spent weeks annoying authors for a project I’ve been doing on writing and editing and all that… And they all say, in one way for another, just write. Forget about editing, forget about spelling and puncutation.

Write and write and…

I know it’s been a while since I’ve been on, and that’s a bad thing. But I have been working! I’ve edited some of my older works, and I just submitted one to a publisher. I’m hoping for a reply of some kind. It’s always a good sign to get a reply, even if it is a rejection letter. That means that they actually read the thing. I submitted one of my better flash fiction pieces. So far, flash fiction is my strong suit. I am able to tell a story in very few words. I think my shortest was between 100 and 200 words.

Anyway, I’m very nervous. My heart is pounding and I can tell that my face is flushed just by feeling it. I’m glad I did it, but I’m so worried what will happen with it. I’m always worried about those things. Like I said before, if I get a rejection letter I will jump for joy. I’m not expecting it to get accepted. It’s not my first time sending things to publishers. The first time I received a rejection letter, and after that I didn’t get any replies from publishers that I submitted to. If I get any sort of response I will be happy.

I will keep trying no matter what. Yet, I do need one thing: an editor. I’m not the best at editing because my mind just jumps ahead in what I’ve written because I know what’s going to happen next, so I can’t fix my typos and grammar correctly no matter how many times I look over it or how intensely I try. I need to find an editor. >.<

At this moment in time I’m thinking about going to the store and buying more energy drinks to stay awake the whole night and write, but I won’t. Why? Because I have a job that takes up a lot of my time and I have a responsibility to it. And there in lies problem #1. I have a job. I’m not the type of person to give up all responsibility for a dream, although I would like to. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could just do what we wanted when we wanted? Well, yeah! But reality is different.

I will write my novels and short stores. However, where is the time for all of that when you work and ten to seven job and are too tired after work? Persistence? Yeah, that is a major factor, but I also have to think about my health which is currently being scrutinized at work because blah, blah, blah. You don’t want to know about that.

Anyway, I’ve loved writing ever since I was a child (literally, ever since I learned to write I did), and when my parents started to realize that this dream wasn’t a phase once I hit high school the supported me through it. They did so even more when they started to read what I wrote and thought it was good. Of course, I didn’t believe them. They are my parents and don’t want to hurt my feelings, same with my friends. But when one of my Dad’s friends, who is in the entertainment business, said I had talent, I was shocked and actually really happy. Some of my teachers in university supported me, but since I’m not a literary writer (I like to write genre pieces, specifically science fiction and horror) I don’t believe they had much faith in me, so hearing that I had talent from someone who lived to entertain gave me a new hope.

University has passed though, I’m in the real world and I can’t sit at home all day and write while drinking the toxic concoction of coffee and energy drinks to fuel my inspiration. I teach English overseas (I imagine all of my professors and teachers throughout the years cringing at that thought because my grammar isn’t perfect.) Also, I haven’t written anything since I arrived here because of work and wanting to explore the country I currently reside in.

But now, I’m cracking my knuckles and sitting my ass down to do what I love. I’m rusty, I know this. I’m looking at my old stuff and what I’ve written today, and I think “Wow! I’ve turned to shit!” Still, I have to get my craft honed again, and I will publish something entertaining. I don’t want to write The Great American Novel. No. I just want to give people a way to escape from the everyday humdrum of life for a few hundred pages until reality strikes again.

And thus I started this blog. I wanted to show the world the process I’m going to go through to become a professional writer… or attempt to.