I have mentioned I’m a writer. I actually started this blog not to be just a place to rate books or rant about life after college, but also as a way to keep myself writing.
Deadlines are a must for me… kind of. I should say, rather, that consistency is a must. I cannot tell myself, “You must have your novel completed by Christmas… or else!” It won’t get done. I can tell myself to have a chapter written a week and I’ll have much better results. So what about those times when I don’t have a chapter to write? What if I don’t feel like approaching my fiction on a given day? Now that I am out of college, I have found I will not have to write as many short essays or to think further about what I’ve been reading. So how on earth am I supposed to keep myself writing?
Answer: blog!
By giving myself parameters of two blog posts a week (one if things are crazy or ideas are slow) I am giving myself the perfect way to keep up with my short fiction and creative non-fiction in the midst of writing my novel.
So what do I write? Growing up, I loved fairy tales and re-tellings. This is reflected in my current work as I approach a loose Robin Hood adaptation set on the high seas. Fantasy is interesting to me, but not something I enjoy writing. I find myself gravitating more towards paranormal fiction where only one thing is out of the ordinary or amiss, rather than an entirely different world that I now have to know everything about. I greatly respect those who can manage that. I am just not clever enough. I also believe you can’t go wrong with realistic fiction. I am prone to write romantic comedies, as much as I dread to admit that…
Writing and reading go hand-in-hand. I cannot tell you how many writing conferences I have been to where this has not been the resounding piece of advice given to new writers. I am just on the beginning of my writing journey and I can tell you these wise words have made all the difference in the world! What I read informs and inspires me in a way no other medium can. Finding a wonderful new author is like meeting a new mentor. Some of the writers I find most inspiring are Jane Austen, Gail Carson Levine, Daniel Nayeri, and Sophie Kinsella. It’s a random mix, I know, but the more I read, the more I find to read! Genres I once despised are becoming more appealing to me. (More on that later.)
One thing I have come to appreciate as I plunge deeper into the writing world is meeting other writers. There is something magical about people who love words. We love to talk about what we’re writing and what we love to read. I can talk shop for hours. If you ever want to discuss craft, books, or anything remotely literary, please shoot me an email!
I guess I just wanted to throw all of this out there as a chance to define this blog a little further. Yes, this is a blog about life outside of college, but it is also about the life of a writer outside of college. Writing is a team sport and I am excited to encourage and be encouraged by all of you as we embark on this journey as readers and writers together.
So who are my writers out there? What do you like to write? Who do you find inspiring to your writing?