Writers Write... Blogs?

Writers these days are supposed to have blogs. That's just the way it is.

So... <tap tap tap> Is this thing on? Here I am I guess. Blogging away in the blogosphere. Which I've done multiple times over in the past. It's how I met my husband (in the early 2000s when it was still kind of new and weird to meet someone online). It's how I've been coping with my struggles of infertility.

But that's for another blog. (Just click on the link above if you want to read about that uplifting journey!)

This one is just to be like, Hey guys! I'm a writer! Look at me write!

Because that's what writers do, isn't it? They write. All the time. Like breathing. Write like they're running out of time.

So here I am, a writer, writing. I mean, if you know me personally, I know you've seen my writing in action. I carry pens and notebooks everywhere with me. I'm the weird girl who sits at New Years' parties scribbling away in my journal. I'm usually better conversation than others anyway.

I have huge writing aspirations, so I figure I'd better start my "author blog," get it up and running, maybe even get a following. Oh my! Readers for my writing! How wonderful!

The kind of ironic part about this is by spending time writing here, I'm not spending time working on my Great Novel, which has so far been a labor of love, frustration, years, and ink stains. In its original draft form, the dang thing is over 300,000 words. For comparison, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is 76,944 words long. The longest book in that series (and my favorite since I'm a glutton for punishment), Order of the Phoenix, is 257,045 words.

So 300,000 is a bit excessive.

That's without the major editing its been receiving for the past year and a half already. Of course, editing is its own painful process that often leaves me whining aloud, "Writing is haaaaaard." Editing is so much harder than writing. I'm learning to love it, though, and take pleasure in cutting three words down to one. It's just painstakingly lengthy.

Especially when, halfway through your first draft, you invented a character that you now have to go back and add in to the rest of the book...

I often wonder if I'll ever be done with the thing. (Things, really. I'm fully aware that I have to split this baby up, probably into three or so books. But I hear publishers these days are into multiple part stories, so I'll have that going for me.)

Luckily it isn't my only project. Last year, spurred on by Jen Sincero's super fun self-help book, You Are a Badass, I entered a few writing contests I had to compose short stories for. The first one I entered? Yeah, I got honorable mention in it.

Wahoo! I'm not the only one who thinks I can write! That was life affirming.

The story can be found here, if anyone's interested.

My second contest was a bust, boo hiss.

But the third? Another honorable mention, which this time led to a publication! I had a short story published in a Young Adult anthology about Lust (which I know is a little weird, but it was the last in a series of anthologies about the seven deadly sins). It can be purchased here. I don't get any exciting proceeds from it, but whatever.

There isn't a much greater thrill than seeing your name in print.

And knowing that your record for short story contests is 2 for 3. Having confirmation that yeah, you really are at least a halfway decent writer. *Phew*

Sometimes I feel mediocre at so many of the things I love. To know that I really am good at something like writing that I spend so much time doing?

Guys, it's awesome.

Don't worry. This whole blog isn't going to be me tooting my own horn all the time. More likely than not, it'll be more like my next entry, which I have to go proofread (soon). Getting my feelings out in a well written way.

Hey. The last time I did that, I posted a paragraph about snow on Facebook, which I later used in my first contest mention, White Blanket.

Just hoping to get some good writing fodder going here.

Coffee and cupcakes to all,
Shauna