So, You're Thinking About Becoming An Author?

Most, if not all of us got our first received a writing baptism in our early grade school years. If you’re like me, you either read and carefully crafted your writings straight out of an encyclopedia (many of you will have to google what that is!) or ran to the nearest book store and purchased the cliff notes (sorry, you may have to google that as well!). And when our papers were graded and returned to us, all too often they were covered in red ink, mark-ups, and comments correcting grammar, word usage, and disjointed content. So, the thought of ever becoming an author was about as realistic as winning today’s lottery. But somewhere along the way as the years pass, an urge arises to pick up a pen (or tap away on a keyboard) to elaborate on thoughts and ideas exploding in our heads.

It starts with an idea, a thought, or an experience you had that blossom into one of those “what ifs?” Your mind takes it in different directions, adding characters, and yielding intriguing outcomes. It’s happening. Although nothing yet may exist on paper, the authoring process has begun! In the beginning, enthusiasm is usually off the charts. The storyline is moving along, characters are coming to life, and then one day, it grinds to a halt. You get stuck. You begin asking yourself questions like, where was I going with this? Is this character believable? How am I going to tie all these random sub-plots together so that they mean anything? Doubts start to swirl in your head and you begin questioning why you started all of this in the first place. It’s okay. Take a deep breath, turn off the computer (or put down the pen), and go for a walk, go to the gym, or go make a sandwich. Authors hit walls (the ol’ writer’s block) and you just joined the club. After a nice break (a few hours or a few days), you’ll see. The energy will come back and you’ll be ready to continue the creative process.

In the words of the NC State basketball coach Jim Valvano, who left us too soon, “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up!”