It started when I was just a child. I’d concoct stories which would be turned into plays. When in eighth grade, I wrote a full length play, which would’ve required a cast of thousands, a set worthy of Cecil B. DeMille, and costumes by Edith Head. There would be music of course, composed by Leonard Bernstein. When I turned the assignment in, I did so with high hopes of getting an “A.”
My teacher said it was good, but would be impossible to produce. I didn’t hear the part about it being good. I don’t remember if I even got a grade for all my hard work. The only thing I recall is the word “impossible.” My first rejection occurred when I was twelve years old. From then on, I felt that being an author was just a means of chasing the wind.
My fear of rejection actually put my writing on hold for a while. An eighth grade teacher doused my hopes of ever succeeding. After a year or so, I couldn’t contain myself. I determined this was going to be my life’s adventure. I would knit words together, create art through them and become a famous author someday.
So here I am, almost 77 years old and I’m still writing, but unable to submit for fear of rejection. Words come easy to me. I rarely have trouble filling a page. My novel is now up to 40,000 words. I’m finding the editing process to be the most difficult. Something new always pops into my brain and I have to change the whole course of events. I’ve tried to kill off two of my main characters, but they won’t die. How is it that these inanimate creatures have lives and minds of their own? Things that are appearing on the page are so unlike me. It’s frightening at times and humorous as well.
Writing a blog every day has helped me achieve some level of confidence. It’s helpful to hear good comments as well as useful critique. Creating a novel is challenging, because you want it to flow from one action to another smoothly. You desire your characters to come alive and be more than one dimensional.
You pray that the story will come together in the end. Then what? If you’re brave, you send it to a publisher. If you’re not so brave, you self-publish. Then you wait and wait and wait some more. I self published my memoir, “Stages – A Memoir,” several years ago. This was my first published work ever. So much time has passed since then, it’s time for a sequel.
The time it takes to put thoughts into the right words is sometimes overwhelming. I appeal to all my fellow writers for advice. I’d like to get this done before I die, so any experiences you have would be helpful for me. I’m just a novice at this. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but I feel my story is strong and worth reading. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
I often feel I’m getting too dark or weird. I wonder how others make it through this process unscathed. The really good authors seem to pop one out after another with great ease.
atimetoshare.me 
You are a wonderful writer. I want to buy your memoir. I have searched for it several times, but it seems to no longer be available anywhere.
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I think it’s out of print. Maybe you can find a used one on Amazon. I only have a couple copies myself. Thanks for y
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Thanks for your encouragement ❤️
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Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
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Tbanks. Vincent
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You’re very welcome Kathy 🌷😁
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It’s amazing, our childhood is the foundation of our lives. And what we suffer in that time tends to almost become a permanent part of our lives.
I know how you feel. Nobody believed in me. I remember my grandma asking me one time what I wanted to be when I grow up and I said a baseball player. She looked at me and said, now be serious.. I mean, what are the odds of actually becoming a MLB baseball player? Pretty high I know, but it’s the principle of if that’s what you want for your life, loved ones especially should encourage and help you to reach out as close as you can get to your goals. To be honest, I don’t know what would have been an acceptable answer to her question. A cousin of mine went to help secret service for presidents… was I too short of this too?
You’re an excellent writer! You and your husband have a ministry together. Your contribution is the literature and his is the visual. And you both are awesome at what you do!
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Oh thank you so much for your encouragement. Sometimes I feel like we’re chasing the wind because our work is a job to us and the arts have little monetary value. Then I see things happening with those we’re teaching – how they grow and become inspired to do more and that’s our reward.
My grandson wanted to be a Walmart Greeter. He was aiming too high don’t you think 😀
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I used to read Writer’s Digest all the time – 20 years ago. One article was on writer’s block. They had quotes from famous writers. Robert B. Parker wrote seven pages per day, regardless of what went on – may have never had writer’s block. Hemingway said to always stop when on a roll. If you stop when you have finished a thought, you may have problems getting the engines fired up the next day. I can’t remember who said it, but in total frustration type gibberish on the page – kinda like a typed tantrum. You may find words starting to form and then sentences. You may have to throw out a page or two, but it overcomes inertia. I have used all of these except for the seven page limit. I seem to write in spurts. I think that is what James Lee Burke wrote – something about not worrying about it and going with the flow of good and bad days.
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Thank you for that great advice. I’ve never experienced writers block. It gets a little scary when my characters start giving me input. I try to accomplish two thousand words a day but do t always make it. It’s consuming me though. My house is a mess. There’s about three inches of dust on everything, including Paul, the dog and me. Ive been writing in earnest since January. I appreciate your comments so much.
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I cannot believe three inches of dust. I was at a steel mill in India once. I went to the top of the building to take a video of an operating furnace moving for the first time. I wiped about that much dust off the railing to steady the camera. That much dust is more than anyone could imagine. I took a shower for over thirty minutes and still felt dirty.
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I tend to exaggerate. Isn’t that part of being a good story teller?
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Can I quote you on that? My wife always tells me it wasn’t that much or it took you longer than that.
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Sure I’d love to be quoted 😜
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This is a novel …way to write.
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Haha that’s funny😀
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