A recent post, made me reminisce back to the time when I finally decided to take the bull by the horns, settle down and start WRITING! FULL TIME!
I packed over 300 old issues of Writers Digest and a few Writer magazines into my husbands Big truck. (I had bought every issue I could find in every second hand/thrift store within a hundred mile radius).
5 am on Day One Out, - I popped open my shiny new laptop (also purchased used) fully intending to pound those keys till they either fell off or my novel was written – whichever came first. I was all settled into the bunk of the truck, we were parked and waiting to get the trailer loaded. I was so busy outlining my story, that I paid absolutely no attention to the fact that my husband was getting ready to head out to the loading dock.
I was in the zone!!! David was in the driver's seat.
I remember the sound of the engine starting as it rumbled to life, breaking the near trance state that I had been in, and *Psftsftsft* the screen faded to grey, hovered for an instant and then went completely to the BSoD (Black Screen of Death).
I can also still remember my first reaction as I realized that I had not ‘saved’ a single time since starting my coveted outline (almost 3 hours overdue).
My heart clutched, my breath caught in my throat and I swore (not something I do very often) a BLUE streak.
David,the astute, calm, and intelligent man that he is, calmly started moving the truck while asking me in his ‘I-really-don’t- mean- to-sound-like-I’m-saying “I told you so” voice; “Let me guess… You didn’t turn off the lap-top when I told you I would be starting up the truck in a few minutes?”
The end result – I spent the next 3 months READING ALL of the magazines from cover to cover, and ALL my WRITING EVERYTHING was written in longhand, into a total of 47 +, MEAD 5 Subject note books. (You can discover why I used these and now recommend that you do too, in my 15 Day FREE Writing Course).
I had writers cramp so bad, and my eyes were so weary, that it took less than a week for the excitement of getting my NEW laptop to fade. At that point I decided on a writing schedule that was condusive to my location, surroundings and my unique circumstances.
But to this day I still thank God every evening for all of my ‘techie-toys’ and the husband that works so hard to provide them, and keep them going / updated! LOL
All of that said, I would be willing to wager that most, if not all of us writers, have a story to tell when it comes to how we ‘got started’. Some would make you laugh, while others would make you cry Most would get you thinking and for a few (myself blessedly included) it’ll make you money!
Quite a few of my ‘journal’ entries from the old days where quickly converted to shorts and fillers, netting me a pocket full of change and a few ‘folders’ (Dollar$) – most of which went right back into supplies and (still to this day) my ‘Continuing Writers Ed. fund'.
Today, I live in Missouri, along with 6 of our 7 dogs (Hubby always has one dog out on the truck) and twelve fish.
My love of writing continues to grow, and I like to think that my skill levels have done likewise. (ALL Replies and /or Critiques are always welcomed) Let me know your thoughts on my style, topic, wordiness – whatever you have to say … I’m all ears. After all is said and done – by reading this post you have just met the requirements to becoming one of my Readers. Hope you enjoyed reading this post even half as much as I enjoyed writing it! And I hope to hear from you in the not too distant future.
Keep; • your butt in the chair • You r head in the clouds • your fingers on the keyboard • Your heels dug in • your nose to the grindstone • a smile on your face- even when there are tears in your eyes • your heart tuned in to the hearts of your reader s Keep; • your eyes on YOUR goals • your DEAF ear turned to ALL those that would discourage you and/or doubt your ability – or even worse yet: those that would make YOU doubt it! (BTW If you haven’t already got a deaf ear – develop one FAST! It comes in especially handy when your Inner Critic starts to flap his/her lips!!!) Keep; • the love for writing that got you started • a positive attitude • your dreams alive • the company of like-minded people (surround yourself, and stay in touch, with other writers – YES emails count!!!) • an opened mind – for without one you will stagnate Keep; • Me in your prayers You don’t have to pray for me individually, just add a line to your regular prayers …”God, please pour your Blessings out on ALL my fellow Writers.” He already knows who we are so you can rest assured that writers everywhere will receive them. (If you don’t pray – I would suggest you start – this is a competitive industry, and we ALL need all the help we can get! And who better to ask?) Keep; • adding to this list – it’s fun to watch it grow • keep sharing this list – Its purpose is to ENCOURAGE and EMPOWER Writers at EVERY stage of the game (Just KEEP in mind - it IS copy written as you see it here.)
wow....quite a story. I like your committment and I can totally relate to writing in the sleeper. I bought an old "brother" typewriter while I was a trucker. It took me four years to write but as a driver I wrote my first book. The Truth about Trucking. It is still selling very well...I've written four books since.
You can check out the Truth about Trucking...which I think you would really get a kick out of. And my other books at www.darktales.us
Christine thank you for sharing. I write old school with paper and pencil. The drafts and editing are all done in longhand. This way I can carry my work with me wherever I go and if the power goes out (which happens), I can keep working. I do not type anything until I am ready to submit it.
I felt bad when you lost your outline on the laptop. I'm afraid if it were me, someone would have been reporting a UFL (Unidentified Flying Laptop). Another reason I suppose I will continue using the old school method. No power surges or outages to delete or erase my work. Of course that does not take into account if the person next to me at the coffee shop spills coffee or lose their cookies on my work. I guess nothing is perfect.
You have presented a very good list of points. I would add, Read. I believe it is just as important for a writer to read, as it is for a diver to keep filling his oxygen tank. They are both important to survival.
----------------------------------------
Steve congratulations on the book. I see your title Truth about Trucking has even broken into the eBay market. Listed by you and one other seller. That's great. I wish you sucess.
Thank you both for the responses! It’s always good to be in touch with Writer Friends. And the more the merrier!
Yes, I am previously published, but to date mostly self published (though quite successfully). The majority of my work has been for small private publishing houses and businesses, as well as trade magazines articles and manuals. It kinda sucks because I hardly ever get the credit for the work. I really want to see my name on the spine of a book in Barnes & Noble and/or on the pages of Amazon.com. I will never give up the dream! And I will make it happen – SOON!!! As for my assistant – she fizzled. They say that youth is wasted on the young, and boy is that true!!! It’s a shame in this case, because she was really working out well – the problem was getting her to come to work. Despite the GREAT pay (she earned $126.00 in less than 2 days!!), she still felt that she could do better working in a local restaurant that gets less than 100 patrons in a week! Our little town has over 30 eateries and a population of less than 10,000!
Oh well!
“NEXT!!!! “
I have a few leads in the works – hopefully one of them will pan out – both of them are more mature and have better office skills, so maybe this is what God intended in the first place. I can only hope and pray!
In the meantime I am on to yet another chapter of getting things done for & by myself. I am looking on the internet to see if I can find an illustrator (one that I can afford) to do 3-5 illustrations for one of the books so that I will have them available for a ‘live reading’ that is due to be held in September. Also, I just secured the services of a professional reader – one of the perks to being involved with the local little theater group.
I am just glad that I have all of the lessons for the 15 Day FREE Writing Course done up already!!! I even managed to update a lot of the information that is being offered, so it will really be a GREAT course. Are either of you interested in joining? Feel free to decline – While I’d LOVE to have you aboard, I know that we writers have a tendency to pile a lot on our plates. Of course you could ‘take’ the course this time around, and ‘do’ the course at your leisure. That is possible because I am setting it up so that the majority of it is on auto responder. The difference with my course is that I can, and will, help anyone who wants/needs it – it just has to be in synch with the lessons as they play out. That way everyone who is getting my assistance is on the same page – thus being of more value to everyone. Either way let me know, and I will keep you apprised of the progress I am making in the technical department. LOL
Oh, before I forget, Voodoonites, I was reading some of your past posts and was surprised to learn that you are of the female gender – I guess the ‘name’ thru me a bit of a curve – (can you tell I’m well over 50?!!!) It’s funny the way us ‘old fogies’ think, isn’t it? (Me NOT you!!!)
Well, I have to finish some Board work (I am the Corresponding Secretary for a couple of entities here in town), so I had better get at it while my fingers are still co-operating! LOL
Thanks for posting, and I hope that we will all stay in touch! This Writing Life can get lonely!!! Sometimes if it were not for my dogs, the only conversations I would have for most of my days would be with my characters! (That IS a good thing though, Right?)
Sorry for the delay in my replies, but I got behind and have been tring to play catch-up.
I am sorry to hear that your assistant did not work out. Hopefully one of your other prospects will work out. Even tho it sounds like you are doing fine without one.
You are so right about never giving up on your dreams. To quote from one of my earlier pieces; Dreams are just a reality waiting to happen.
I would love to check out your writing course, but unfortunatly I am not sure that I would be able to give it the time it deserves. Not only because of my schedule, but because I also just received a jury summons for the 24th. I am praying that they'll excuse me. The last time I served it was a murder trial and lasted over a month. It took me two months after that to get back on track.
As far as my eBay ID, it was the name of a perfumed oil that I use to sell. Although I have worked many a masculine job over the years. I worked construction, autowrecking, and bartended at night. My husband loves the idea he married a woman that is not afraid to get dirty or greasy.
I too am so happy to have found this discussion board. It is always nice to converse with people of like minds.
)
)
)
