Off and Running...with scissors

Six weeks ago I would have laughed at the thought of me starting a blog. Now, I'm anxious and thrilled at the prospects of this page. I've just finished an intensive creative writing course at the local literary center and find myself more motivated and able to finish my first novel. I've loved writing my entire life, but it wasn't until two years ago (my first writing course) that I began taking my writing seriously. Sure, I was able to spin out a persuasive, factual essay on American government during college without breaking a sweat, but now my writing has transformed from the world of academia to the vivid creations of my imagination.

I started and quit several projects in the last few years because I didn't have the tools to shape my ideas beyond the first few chapters. I was constantly creating dynamic characters and in essence "killing" them off because I couldn't lead them to the end of their story. I was attacking the keyboard of my computer with great anticipation that my ideas and the story would just somehow magically come to me. Now I have seen the errors of my ways, but by no means have I mastered my craft. On the contrary, I have opened my eyes to the reality of my writing and am now more willing to take on every aspect of the grueling work of writing a novel.

I have taken on the "Act as if..." philosophy. If I am serious about writing I need to be serious about all that being a writer includes. I was asked once what would I do differently if I were successful at writing and my answer was I would write more. With that I realized that I didn't have to wait (nor should I wait) for some magical spark of lightning to create my first great piece. If I want to be successful then I have to write more now. Since that great epiphany, I have created a storyboard for my current project, started a thorough layout of the story, began research for the story, completed a creative writing course, and started this blog.

For me, being a successful writer right now means finishing my first novel. I'd love to some day be published, but I have to be realistic. I love to write. I love to create characters and see their lives unfold on a blank piece of paper. I may never be published but at heart I am a writer and I don't expect that will ever change. Success can be measured so many different ways, but for me success is finishing what I've started. I can't say I've been successful at many things in my life, but I know if I put my mind to something I can finish any task big or small. My novel cannot be contained in my head so I must finish it.

I've set out to use the tools I gained to do what I have to do to get the characters out of my head and onto paper without "killing" them before their story ends. Tonight my exercise was to schedule my goals for the week so that I can stay on track.

Outlook for this week:
1. My "stretch" for this week is to write 6 days for at least 1/2 an hour. Life is pretty slow this week so I should be able to do this, but it's a stretch because something seems to always come up.

2. This week I dread running out of steam. This is my first week not having my writing class. I'm afraid that I'll be like the kid returning home after summer camp full of excitement to continue with lessons learned at camp only to have that excitement fizzle after a few days or weeks.

3. This week I will drop watching television in order to get my writing in each day. This shouldn't be too difficult for me, but for some reason I have a hard time turning the TV off and turning the computer on to write. I'll give myself one hour a day to watch TV if there's something that I've been waiting to see. I know I have to take some down time too otherwise I could come to dread writing which would be a negative outcome for my ultimate goal.

4. This week I will add doing more research to my list of things to do on my project. I need to do a lot of research to make sure I use factual events and realistic imagery in my story. Although I'm writing fiction I don't want my 18th century characters to be written as if they were living in the 19th century.

My Goals Between now and one year from now (April 2009) are:
1. To finish at least one draft of Charlie (my current project - Charlie is my protagonist).
2. Do thorough research on the Young Adult (YA) market, agents, publishers, etc.
3. Attend one seminar
4. Take one class at the local literary center

To achieve my goals I must:
1. WRITE!!! WRITE!!! WRITE!!!
2. Use this page as a tool to develop my craft
3. Do at least one writing exercise a week in order to keep learning
4. Study authors / other writers / READ!!!
5. Expand on the skeleton of Charlie, the road map of her story, and the storyboard.

It's going to be a lot of work, but it will be well worth it. So, here I go.