I have been writing my first novel for the last eight or so years, and it is finally getting to the final stages before publishing!

It has been an incredibly long journey to get here, and the story has changed almost entirely from my original design, but I love it.

I hope to write more about it very soon, both the novel itself, and my writing process. I’ve learned so much throughout this experience, and even though I know there will always be more to learn, I’m excited to share it with the world. Hopefully the tips and tricks I used will help other aspiring authors on their own journey as well.

Writing a novel this is a daunting experience to take on, but I’m hoping it will be equally as rewarding. Some days it truly felt as though I was baring my soul and hoping for the best, but I am so happy with the final result. Or semi-final result. It isn’t quite complete yet, but it will be soon!

I first got the idea for this story when I was about eleven or twelve years old, and I started writing this story when I was about fifteen, though it was less of a written story than a series of scenes I returned to whenever I wanted to escape my every day life. During some of my toughest times, it was a refuge for me, a safe place I could imagine going to when things were tough at home or with friends.

Then, it became a source of pride when I finally finished my first draft. In all honesty, it was barely even a manuscript, with lots of tags like [insert scene where they talk here]. But hey, it got there in the end!

Now, as much as I love it, I find it terrifying too. The idea of sharing this with the world is equally exhilarating and nauseating. What if people hate it? What if they don’t like my characters, writing style, world, ideas… What if they don’t like me? So on and so forth. Unfortunately, a truth I’m coming to terms with in my own life is that there will never be something that everyone loves, or even likes. We all have different preferences and experiences, and honestly, that is okay.

Another fear of mine is that the people in my life might find it. Or this blog for that matter. Yet, if I allow my fear of their judgement to affect my decisions, what kind of life am I leading? One that is decided by me, or by all the other voices around me?

I cannot control whether they find my work or not, nor can I decide how they will react. It is a risk we need to take when putting things out into the world, and especially on the internet. But now, it’s a risk I’m willing to take.

I love writing, and I hope that other people will enjoy my work enough to help me continue doing it. Some days it feels as though I have a dozen stories that have filled my mind to bursting. Writing is a way of letting all that tension, all those ideas out, and I love it. The experience of choosing the right words, coming up with new people/places/things/experiences to write about, and finding ways to incorporate new ideas is so unbelievably fun, and I hope that I never lose the joy it brings me.

As a complete introvert, I imagine that this promotion time is going to be pretty intense. I have always struggled to form forming lasting connections, but I hope that in many ways, my work will do that for me. Above all else, I hope that people enjoy my stories. They are intense and dark and occasionally emotional, but I want people to have fun reading them!

I cannot wait to connect with people through them, for people to see themselves in my characters, to feel what my characters feel, to learn something new, and to experience a whole other world of possibilities. That is my ultimate hope for my books. Well, book (singular) to begin with, but hopefully there will be more soon – God knows my brain does not stop!

Of course, every aspiring author would love for their book to be the next big thing, and I am no different, but I’m very excited to see how this journey goes. I don’t know what’s in store for the future, or where my book will go. I can only hope that it will find the right people to love the story, world, and characters that I have created.

In the coming weeks I hope to write about my experience, and perhaps begin the introductions to my characters and fictional world! Please stay tuned, and keep me updated if there is anything specific you would like to know more about. I’m grateful for all the help I’ve already received, and to the readers of this brand new blog of mine!

See you next time!

CC