Writer's Life

When I was a little girl I had a few dreams. I was going to grow up to be a magic fairy princess, I didn't know exactly what they did but I was more than happy to learn. Once I got past the age of five I soon realized that magic fairy princess was not an actual job title so instead I began focusing on one of my other two major passions, dance. I loved to perform. I took classes, gathered posters of performers, I even read about the history of different styles I was studying. Everyday I would wait until it was time to dance class and then I could finally smile and be excited because I got to use my movements to create art and tell a story.

Well lack of motivation throughout my teenage years along with a few serious injuries cause my dance career to veer off course. I had no idea what I was going to do with my life. I tried college but went through thirteen different majors before I eventually found one that was a good fit. I took more than one break in my studies and anyone that has ever met me can vouch for the number of different jobs I attempted to hold. I was lost. I would write about it all the time along with random ideas for stories or characters. I loved to chronicle the places I went and people I met along the way. It was staring me right in the face, my one remaining passion was still with me and had never let me down. I could still be a writer. 

Again going back to that little girl with the princess dress and fairy wings, even then I loved to make up stories. I would use my ideas to put on plays for my family. I drew stick figure people to be the characters in my imaginary worlds. I was born to be a writer but back then if you had asked me what a writer does I would have been way off base in my answer. I always imagined writers being people that would sip coffee on the lounge chairs of their beach houses looking out over the water as the sun broke free of the horizon. They would have a word processor (yes I am a little older) set up in an elaborate home office that they would head to after breakfast and there they would remain for hours easily turning out masterpiece after masterpiece. Once they had written every word typed out and printed it was off to the publisher that automatically loved it. 

The publisher would go through the mystical process of assembling the words into millions of copies of the next bestseller. There would be a whirlwind book tour where fans would form an endless line to grab a copy and have it signed and when the tour was over they would just go back to the beach house and count their money. It was an easy and wonderful life. It was also the greatest fiction I had ever concocted. If that was the true life of a writer then far more people would be trying to become one I imagine and far less would ever make it. I believe there are those that have achieved a semblance of this but no one gets it completely right on the first try, editing and polishing are still required.

Today I got to live a day in the life of an actual writer. I got up early and went to speak to a location I was hoping would host an event for me. It did not work out so I had to go to a back up location as well as speak to an organization I was hoping to partner with. Again things did not go according to plan and my initial idea of a fundraiser / book event got pushed back until I can work out further details. I did however make a few new contacts and get a lead for two book signing possibilities. I added them to my contact list and headed to the post office to send out book copies as well as some promotional materials that will hopefully help me land another great signing event. 

After all of the running around I returned home only to have some chores that needed tending to. Once I had cleaned up and gotten everything around I made a list of the promotions I need to do which is another hour or so of work and of course keeping up with my blog which I am currently working on. Then I will finally be able to open up a file for one of the books I am writing and get some much needed words down before I devote myself to editing and revising a completed draft. When all is said and done I will head to bed exhausted but productive. I will open the book I am reading and with any luck at all get through a couple chapters before I fall asleep and get to do it all again tomorrow. 

I love being a writer and wouldn't trade it for anything in the world but there is no question that it is a true job. I hope that people realize what they are getting into and that the drive comes from their passion, heart and soul. There is nothing like the feeling of creating a world and getting to share it with others. For me I can't think of anything I would rather be doing and I hope that one day it will be my one and only full time job.