I've been writing stories and poems my whole life. I typed up my first full length "book" on an anique typewriter at my grandmother's house the summer I was 11. It was a personal shout out to "The Outsiders" a book I absolutley loved when I was younger. I also wrote poems for my parents, every mother's day, father's day,birthday ect I would write a loving , heartfelt poem for them. But I never thought seriously about publishing a book until this past year, and the encouragement and advice I have received has been mind blowing!
My friends and family are always supportive and while that is warmly welcomed and hugely appreciated it's taken with a grain of salt. They are after all the people who love me the most, therefore I don't expect pure honesty. So I reached out to strangers, authors and bloggers I found in the amazing world of Twitter, and they have been the difference in continuing to write just for me and deciding to share with the world! Here are some of my favorite words of advice as well as encouragement (in no particular order)
I got the great pleasure of meet a movie director and a writer to some films that I love, his advice not just to me but to anyone out there trying to share their dream : ""Don't ask permission, don't wait for acceptance. Do what you love, somewhere somone else will love it too!"
This was a comment left on my FB page beneath my short "Finding Him" (which is also on this site) left by an amazing author who's book will be an instant hit once it's finished! "I read this story when you suggested it and have just gotten done re-reading it and it's really quite gripping. Bittersweet and beautiful without the subject matter making it depressing. You have a wonderful way with the realism and emotion of the scene that I find amazing."
And this last one was emailed to me from a favorite author of mine after I let him read a rough draft copy of Losing Connor. "If you ask 10 people to read your story you are likely to get 10
different opinions on “what works” “what doesn’t work” “what should stay the
same” “what should be changed a little/a lot,”
By all means, listen to them, but remember you wrote those words in
that way for a reason. That’s your voice, the way you hear/see/think the story
should be. Never forget: it’s *your* story. Listen to them, thank them, think
about what they have to say, and then be alright with the notion of not
following their advice if you don’t feel it is true to your voice.
In short I guess what I really wanted to say in this blog was don't be afraid to reach for your dreams. Reach out to others, there are still good people in the world ready to support and encourage you, and in the end be r
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