Monday, October 16, 2006

The time draws near

It's October 16th. As I spend too much time on the NaNoWriMo forums, helping others, critiquing, answering questions, and pounding out the details of my own novel, I have to ponder this mad rush.

This year, it marks the beginning of my writing career.

Now, I've been a writer from the day I learned I could write 50 word books on notebook paper and staple them together. I've always wanted to be a published author. And yet, somehow I never even really tried all that hard. Why?

Laziness, mostly. Not fear of rejection, not fear of failure. I've always been confident enough in my writing ability that I am certain that one day, somehow, someone will publish my novels and actually pay me for them. It's all about lack of commitment and lack of motivation. I just never sat down and wrote my books.

Another reason has been distraction. Fanfiction is the biggest culprit. There's one thing I can say for fanfic... it kept me writing. The problem is, it took the effort away from the stuff I can actually make money on! If I had spent half the effort on my original fiction that I did on fanfic, I could have been a published author by now.

I'm 27. I have a daughter, and I'm not getting any younger. I'm more mature, and I have a better grasp of the things people want to read, what I want to read. And I think I write a lot better than many published authors out there. So, I'm going to do it. Parenthood has made me grow up a lot, made me more focused, and taught me that if I try hard enough, I can accomplish anything. And so I will.

Here's to the dawn of a new career. Thanks, Chris Baty. And thanks, NaNoWriMo, all of its crazy participants, novelist wannabes, superlative successes and abject failures. Most of all... thanks to my daughter, who has given me the motivation to just do it.

This one's for you, Lisa.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello from a fellow WriMo!

I, too, have found my children to be the catalyst for getting back to writing (original fiction, anyway). I think it's partly a reclaiming of the Self that one looses when you spend most of the day talking to people under the age of 5 (!). The other part is that I've finally gotten to a point in my life that I feel like I have something to 'say'.

That, and I'm trapped in the house with an infant and how else am I going to have fabulous adventures??

Good luck with your NaNo project!

Heather Dudley said...

Thanks!

I think you're right about that. The most intelligent thing I hear all day is "Biyaaaagaboo", so I have to get an outlet somehow!

Anonymous said...

Hi Heather.....

LOL...you wrote: "..I'm 27. I have a daughter, and I'm not getting any younger..." I have a daughter who is 31! three grandkids and 2 more on the way..one due in November, the other in January! I've written privately in journals and occasionally a poem for someone's birthday and ALWAYS wanted to be published. Talk about "not getting any younger"...my first published book may well be a collection of children's stories I'm putting together for the grandbabies or the NANOWRIMO effort...but I am looking to publish SOMETHING in 2007! Let's do it!
Debbie

Heather Dudley said...

Absolutely! Let the mothers of the world unite! I don't want to wait until Elisabeth has grandkids before I really start devoting myself to it. So that's why I've chosen to really buckle down this year. THIS is the magic year.

Anonymous said...

Another WriMo here! I just wanted to say, we're in the same place this year. NaNoWriMo isn't just a challenge for me this year, it's a beginning. I'm not a mom, but I am standing on the edge of the dreaded 30th birthday. Looking back over my 20's, I can honestly say that getting serious about my writing is the one thing I didn't do in my 20's that I really wanted to do. So my 30's will be the beginning of my writing career. Who knows where it will lead, but if I don't try, I'll regret it forever! I'm adding your blog to the links on mine. Maybe we can keep up with each other in this journey toward publication!

Heather Dudley said...

Thanks Anita! You and I are pretty much in the same boat. If you don't mind, I'll do the same! The more linkage I can get, the better. :)

Anonymous said...

Of course! I love that about the blogging community.. people link each other and create connections. It's just such a neat thing. Anyway, thanks for the link!