For those who aren't completely computer literate...like Baby Boomers, those of us on the cusp of the Boomer generation,and the just plain non-techy. Where do I begin my writing journey?
Can I Help You Make Yours A Shorter Journey?
You Don’t Just Arrive
I began my own writing journey after reading Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series. I loved how she made it possible for her vampires to easily and realistically live in the modern era. They were believable. I hated Bella, well, maybe hate is too harsh. Hated the whole love triangle thing, but the story was so compelling. And I loved that she wrote it in first person.
So when I finished the Twilight series…and a round of confidence-building hypnosis, I said, “I can do that.” So, I did. Originally, my characters were going to be vampires, but I soon realized vampires have been done to death. I knew I wanted to write a paranormal story that hadn’t been done; something different and unique. The trend of vampires was waning. (I met Richelle Mead and Marissa Meyer at a writer's conference session that was about trends in young adult fiction. The general consensus was that if you’re writing to a trend you’ve already missed the trend...i.e. an Ebola Apocalypse. Just a side note to consider.) I decided on Dream Weavers as my paranormals, and slowly but surely my characters took shape. My manuscript was originally 64 pages. I needed to flesh it out. I learned everything I could about creative fiction writing and talked to people about my creations. Everyone from my dog to my mom, my son and a girl I met at the PNWA Writer’s Conference, had some input that impacted the story in one form or another.
You’re never too old to dare to dream
At the time I started writing, I was 43 years old. I asked myself if that was too old to start writing, especially in the young adult genre. And I came to the conclusion that you’re never too old to dare to dream. Several years ago, I read a book on developing your personal mission statement By the end of the book I wrote: My mission is to create a positive living climate, build personal strength and a spiritual foundation. To dare to become the dream and challenge all who enter my life to fulfill their destiny. I believe if the dream is in you, you’re never too old to reach out and grab hold of it. And, ‘A dream you don’t fight for will haunt you for the rest of your life’ (Robots movie).
So, one of my new goals, now that the Dream Weaver trilogy is complete, is to write progressive articles that can help other writers who find themselves in the same boat I was in. I knew absolutely NOTHING about how to write a book, pitch it and query agents and editors, self-publishing, or marketing and promotion. Am I an expert? Nope. But I have acquired a lot of tools that may be able to help you along your way. So stay tuned for more indepth articles on where you go from here. At this point, if I've encouraged you to chase after a dream you believed was impossible, a dream you placed on the back burner and turned off the heat, then please let me know in the comments below. YOU are truly never too old, too young, too anything to Dare to Dream. Get up now. Chase it!
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Thank you for your encouraging words. My hope was to add an article here and there to make someone else's journey not as long as my own. I knew absolutely nothing, but dived in anyway.
I LOVE the Walking Dead and their midseason hiatus is driving me nuts. And how could they kill Beth after the whole season looking for her??? It's just so wrong!
I know the zom genre has been done to death...but guess what? My next book is a devolution zombie story. I wrote a short story, Kaiser, for an anthology Dream Weaver Novels published with 9 other authors from around the world. It's called Gates of Erebus if you'd like to check it out.
Thanks again! I truly appreciate your response.
Have a Happy New Year & Happy Reading!
Su
I was fascinated with computers from high school when we went to visit a large, very hot, room filled with vacuum tubes that powered a computer for a corporation that had the power of a cheap, obsolete hand calculator. In 1971, using a huge IBM computer, I was overjoyed to be able to use the first word processor, WYLBUR, that freed computing from mere number crunching to manipulating words. The rest is history.
As an author, no one needs to be computer literate, but it sure helps. What most people (baby boomers?) think of as computing, is skimming the surface of giants with very little understanding. That said, it is my hope that all writers, write as well as you do, and don't blame it on their computers when they don't.
By the way, I agree that vampires, and now zombies, are overdone. Still, I am fascinated with The Walking Dead for some perverse reason… It is so unbelievable. As a science fiction writer, I hope that I'm dreaming up the next trend, and hope that it will not be a soap opera like Star Wars, a fantasy that never ends.
Ron