I have a printed copy of the first
version of The Ruby Brooch written in 1997. I shake my head and roll my eyes
when I read the manuscript. What was I thinking? Did I really believe I could
write? Obviously, I did. I pounded out over 110,000 words, didn’t I? How many
of those words made it the printed version? Very few, if any. But I wanted to
be a writer. How could I be one if I didn’t write? So I took classes, studied
craft books, attended writers’ meetings and conferences, brainstormed with
writer friends, and I wrote pages and pages and pages. Bad pages!
“And what you have to do . . . may
not be pretty . . . or come easy.”
For me, learning never came easy. My
head spun in circles. I had no idea what folks were talking about. Head-hopping? Show, don't tell? Backstory? Synchronicity? Then, one by one, concepts
clicked. I didn’t always get it right, but I tried. Rarely was it pretty.
When I started running, my form was atrocious,
my breathing uncontrollable, my pace, well, that really hasn’t changed much.
In other words, pretty ugly. But I wanted to be a runner. To get to that
place wasn't pretty or easy either. Although, I did find Newton running shoes
and fancy Nike gear helped me feel better about looking stupid running down
the sidewalk!
Never easy. Never pretty. But if you
want to get where you want to be and become the person you were created to be,
lace up your running shoes, pull your chair up to the computer, and just do it! Ugly and painful as it might be.
Happy writing and running, Kathy
3 comments:
Hear, hear!
I think it is incredible that you persevered in writing The Ruby Brooch. Approximately fifteen years is more than admirable to complete your dream.
Hearing of your determination has made me more excited to read The Ruby Brooch. I hope there let is a HEA (happily ever after), my favorite endings!
Thrilled to hear that you are an Outlander fan! So far, in my endless years of reading, I think that Claire and Jamie have to be one of the greatest couples...right up there with Rhett and Scarlet, Lizzie and Darcy, Jane Erye and Rochester.
I love that you are writing a time travel book about the Civil War, my favorite time in history and one of your heroes is a Frasier and a heroine from your family clan, the Montgomery.
Daddy's parents came separately from Italy but Mummy's family was Irish coming over during the famine. The exception is my maternal grandmother who immigrated alone from the Highlands! So, you are hitting on all my favorites and, for that, I thank you.
I am glad that I found you on the kindle websites, including today Cents-bile Reads.
Good luck. You deserve it.
Marijane Diodati
mjdiodati@yahoo.com
Marijane, I already had a tearful moment this morning, you brought another. Thank you for taking the time to write a note. It means the world to me. Yes, it appears I have touched on your favorites. It is comments like yours that keep me writing. Thank you, again! Kathy
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