She is also my favorite writer. I’ve come to realize, that even though she’s never published a novel (she has published a short story, though. Check it out.), I’ve ‘read’ many of her books through her telling me about them.
Continue readingTag: observations
Today, I’m gonna be talking about (in a roundabout kinda way) goals… or just what is ‘good enough’ when it comes to my stories.
We all had to go to school (I hope). And chances are, we were all pressured to do the best we could when it came to ‘earning’ our grades. I remember a good friend that would always talk to me about how their mom would pressure him to get those A’s and not settle for anything less. Go for the best and leave everyone else in the dust.
I was crocheting today, and realized that it’s a lot like writing a book (in ways). I took up crochet as a hobby after my son was born. I was looking at being home for long stretches of time with nothing to do (I hadn’t taken up writing yet), so I originally jumped to knitting.
I watched several videos on YouTube, borrowed some yarn and needles from my mom, and learned how to knit. It was tough. For some reason, my brain couldn’t wrap itself around the idea of using those needles and yarn to create something. My first few projects looked like crap, and I was about ready to give up, when I thought, “How about crochet?”
I was wondering what I would tell my younger self the other day. My brain instantly came up with an amazingly long list of all the advice I’d love to pass on to all young people… but the topic was directed at myself, so… some things I’d like to tell my younger self (if I could):
Expect to get hurt (both physically and emotionally). No matter how much you try to avoid it, you’re gonna get hurt. Expect it. Learn the lesson you were meant to learn and move on. Don’t dwell on the hurt.
Where do I get my ideas? A question that seems to be asked of authors everywhere. I’ve tried to think of an answer that I might be able to rattle off quickly if I ever become famous enough to be asked that question (lookin’ to the future), but it’s not something that I can answer so easily.
I began writing earnestly just over two years ago. I’m a newb, technically. My first short story, Bridge to Limbo, was an idea I got from reading a story by Hugh Howey (The Plagiarist). The next short, Galileo Among the Stars, was my way of solving the problem of time travel using the theory of quantum entanglement (sometimes my mind wanders when I hear about new technology). The third one, The Strange Life of Walter Moody, was kind of a love letter to the woman who is now my girlfriend. I imagined how it might be possible to change reality by writing it (a la Death Note, but in a good way).
