Hey ya’ll, I mentioned in my last writing Wednesday post, that I’m in the editing process. I wanted to explain a little of what that means for me, and how I got here. I wrote my first book in third grade for a school project. The book, about a young pirate girl, was selected to compete in a competition that I placed third in. This was the first time I enjoyed the writing process, finally, something positive to channel all of my creativity into. Till then I was trying my hand at music, which I still love and use as inspiration, but I’m tone deaf so while I enjoyed it, over the years I felt I began to feel I would never be able to create the music I wanted too. Writing was different, it allowed complete freedom to explore and exhaust all of my creative potential. My mind did not have the limitations my body did, suddenly I had the ability to produce exactly what was inside my head.
My love of writing expanded in middle school. I started writing lyrics and poems. In high school, I had a teacher who helped foster my love of creating in general. I discovered a love of design, and actually went to school to study architecture. He pushed me to explore the parts of myself I hid away, as teenagers typically do at that age. I was one of two black girls at my high school, everyone had an idea of how I should act and what I should be doing, and I hadn’t learned none of that mattered. Writing allowed me allowed me a space to be completely myself. I won’t go into all the ways writing helped me know myself, I spoke a little about that here, but I did want to state again how knowing myself is invaluable to my writing.
While in college, I started toying with the idea of writing making a career of what I love. Could I do it, actually make a money telling stories? If I told stories would people want to read them? I decided that answers didn’t matter that I needed to get those stories out in the physical world, and I did it.
In Dec of 2015, I finished the manuscript, of what will be my first novel. The book was truly a labor of love, but finishing it was everything. Never in my life did I feel so good about me. So completely accomplished and so completely overwhelmed with all the work I still had to do.
Getting from idea to Barnes and Nobles shelves is a long and hard journey. Finishing the manuscript was my first move, editing was next. Working on the manuscript was fun. Making up the story, creating new and interesting characters, with every word I could see my future book deal before my eyes. Then I read through the draft and I could see the deal slipping through my fingers with every plot hole, grammar mistake, and weak character.
So now I’m going through my book chapter by chapter, page by page. and sentence by sentence refining my work. Making sure my characters are real and my story is solid. I’m already over it, but I’m in a spot where I have no choice. I owe it to myself and my work to see this editing process through.
After I finish editing, I have a couple of my moves to makes before I get hold my book in my hands, but I’m taking it one page at a time. Where are ya’ll in your writing? What do you like to read and write? Tell me in the comments below, till next post, go create something.
