...there were words.
I have been putting words to paper since 1974. Granted, at that time they were the primary words being taught to me in elementary school, but they were no less exciting.
My most memorable creative writing of significant length was a science fiction story entitled, “Zeroid”. I was nine or ten years old when I wrote it; not for any English assignment but strictly for the joy of telling a story in my own words. It was the tale of a young lady who finds herself beamed aboard the living spaceship Zeroid. She joins the crew in a desperate battle to save humanity from an alien invasion. I later turned it into a play for an arts summer camp I attended. My fellow camp goers and I performed it for our parents and friends on the closing day of camp. We received a standing ovation. I’ve never lost those feelings of accomplishment and pride.
I don’t remember a time in my life since then when writing wasn’t a part of my daily routine. I’ve kept some type of journal since I was 15. All but three or four jobs I’ve held in my life allowed me to utilize and expand my writing skills. I was introduced to the world of desktop publishing and produced a family newsletter quarterly for five years.
I changed majors in college four times, searching for something that felt right. Through those turbulent years, while my GPA fluctuated, the only grades that stayed consistent were those in my English courses. But a career where I did nothing but write eluded me. The only options I knew of at the time were to become a journalist, a teacher, or go hungry doing freelance work for multiple magazines and newspapers. At that time, blogging on the internet, self-publishing, or free-lancing for online magazines weren’t abundant career options. No, I grew up with the lesson that work was something you did for someone else, it was not necessarily something to enjoy, and unless I pursued the aforementioned acceptable jobs (journalism, or teaching), my creative writing was to be treated as a hobby, not a career.
...To Be Continued
Getting back to basics this month and decided to ditch the marketing hustle, and instead, share one of my older, non-fiction, essays.
Quite frankly, I've wandered far from the joy of storytelling. Going full-time into my business put so much pressure on my passion that it fizzled. I've been in "desperate to make money mode" for the past year and it's taken a toll on my relationship with my Muse.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy this month's blog series where I share the story of my journey from corporate drone to full-time self-published author and writer's coach.
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