Have you ever really thought you wanted to be a certain thing when you 'grew up' and then once you actually did, you found out it wasn't going to happen? Yes, hi, um that would be me. See I lived, breathed and dreamed of living my life in Montana. On a cattle ranch. With lots and lots of cowboys. Then I married someone who, though I love him dearly, doesn't like animals and that was the end of that.
Well, actually it did happen for a brief period of time and it was as wonderful as I always thought it would be. But here I am, proud mama of 3, happily married and I was stuck. Stuck in the 'What if". Ever been there? Why do I tell you all of this? Well, you see, this is what led me to want to be an author.
I am not one of those people who was born knowing I wanted to be an author. Sure I was highly praised in 6th Grade for my creative writing and Grammar has always come easily for me (the first person who points out a typo or some other error in this post WILL BE SHOT AT SUNRISE!) ;) I have corrected and edited more papers than I can count for roommates and husbands. The biggest thing that led me to writing throughout my entire life though was my grand imagination. I grew up 15 minutes from Disneyland, had my first visit when I was teeny tiny and have always thought Maleficent rocked. Pixie Dust flows through my veins. Now, I had known that I needed to change my expectations out of life for some time but I had to find a way to do so. Last year it finally happened.
I realized that I could put my fabulous imagination to work creating the world as I had wanted to see it by writing about it and I could write about it over and over, never the same way twice. As I started to create my first story both in my mind and in Word, I began to get more and more ideas...story after story started popping up in my brain and I got more and more excited. My wise friend told me that our Muse is like a muscle ~ the more we exercise it, the more she will be of use to us. You know what? She was right! (Thanks Krystal!)
Of course, I had a ton to learn (and still do). I began devouring books again as I had in years past (Thank you Stephanie Meyer for reminding me of how fun it is to read!) I began doing a boatload of book reviews and reading other people's reviews as well. I joined multiple groups - groups on Goodreads, on Yahoo, on Facebook and in real life - my local RWA chapter. I was excited to be on street teams for multiple authors and thrilled to be allowed to review for sites. Through all of this, I met Krystal and was included in The Romance Troupe and met Harlie and became her Admin. I learn from both of them daily as well as the other wonderful authors I have met that I work with. I started watching the authors that I was on Street Teams for - mainly Carrie Ann Ryan, Kellie Kamryn and Emily Guido. I learned from them and from the speakers at my monthly RWA and annual conference meetings. Through all of this, I have seen just how much more I have to learn.
I have also seen however, that I can do this. I can write what I feel inside, put it in ink (okay 1's and 0's) and I can express my feelings on all sorts of topics. My characters can be my therapy. My wonderful husband has told me that if this is what I want to do, who I want to be, he will support me. And so will my girls. I am learning to prioritize and make goals and adjust those goals and not give up. This is a challenging business, a hard business. But it is also a good business with lots of good people in it. And I am one of them and that makes me happy.
YOU ROCK! Liberty Ann! Thank you for sharing. It's an amazing feeling when you finally make that choice to pursue your dreams. And yes, your Muse is a muscle and it's high time you start her weight training.
ReplyDeleteHUGS,
Krystal
I <3 you Liberty Ann. Like Krystal stated... YOU ROCK!!!!
ReplyDeleteAwww thanks girls. Muah!!
ReplyDeleteI generally find brand managers report to Marketing
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