And so I write....

I've always been creative, making up stories and 'what ifs'.  Daydreaming.  Then one day, I thought, Hey, I should write this down.  It would make a good book.  And so, in March 2010, I started typing, having no clue what I was doing. 7 months and 380,000 words later, I stopped.  Then found out it was too long to be one book.  And my writing sucked.  So I revised. I have the first two books in my Fragile Line series nearly polished, a rough draft of book 3 and still working on finishing up book 4.  

I have a great group of friends who love what I write.  They can't imagine that I'll never get published.  Their words of praise mean the word to me.  My head gets real big when someone calls or emails or texts me with praise.  It makes me think I must be doing something right!  I save every email I get that has anything to do with my books.  

Especially all the rejects from agents.  

But I understand why.  I am a nobody in the world of writing.  I've never taken a class or attended a workshop.  I've never been published and have won no awards, unless you count the ones from high school and college.  And to make matters worse, when I reread the stuff I was sending out, I would have rejected me too!  It was full of errors!  Silly ones.  This was embarrassing and disappointing.  

I didn't give up.

I keep typing.

I am going to a three day workshop, The Midwest Writers Workshop in Muncie, Indiana.

I have asked my friends who read for enjoyment to mark mistakes they find.

I asked a friend who used to be teach English at a community college to copy edit.

I've demanded my sister read full length drafts in 24 hours to make sure my stories flow.

Writing is something I am passionate about.  Surprisingly, I have no words to truly describe this. I want to succeed so desperately, but sometimes it seems like a word that is impossible to break into.  I find encouragement in knowing that Stephenie Meyer received many rejections before she found an agent.  And Jodi Picoult had one of her books rejected over 100 times.  But when I hear about successes like Amanda Hocking, I am encouraged even more.  Determination.  Endurance.  Passion.  And skill.  Gotta have the skill.

And so I write....