The Great Journey of Writing a Novel

As a child I loved to create stories. I constantly scribbled, wrote, and made-up tales in my notebooks through the power of my imagination that took me to faraway places and new worlds. Growing up I started to formulate my dream of being a bookworm, but I wanted to do something bigger and better. I wanted to write a book. So I began to set out to do just that. In middle school, I got my first achievement, having a piece of my work published in a book. Our entire class, had to write poems to enter into a contest where the best poems would be put into a poem anthology (of poems written by other elementary/middle school kids). My poem was picked and I was elated! The first step had been completed. I was off to a good start.

As I got older I started to define, and shape my goals even more. I really wanted to share my stories with the world and possibly make it to the New York Times Bestseller list, which became my new top goal. Throughout high school, I tried to write as much as I could, though I was busy all the time. I managed to write some short stories/flash fiction and poems in my free time. I loved whenever a teacher assigned me a creative writing project because it gave me a chance to get my creative juices flowing.

Then came a small roadblock, I became discouraged about ever being able to publish a book. All of the well established or known authors I knew and loved were older, had professional jobs and titles, and I thought that I would never make it into the big leagues. Then I started reading/hearing about young people like me who also dreamed of publishing their work and then tada! they became authors. My hope and faith was restored! I could write a book too, and I didn’t have to have a degree, or be some great literary scholar. All I needed was a good story, perseverance, and a lot of….

So I became serious. I started to spend free time thinking of ideas of what I could write about and how my story could separate from the masses and stand out. This was the hardest part, developing a story. At first I though it could be easy, but as time went on I realized how difficult it was to create something new and original. I pay all my respects to my favorite authors and the great writers of the past and present. I began to truly appreciate and realize how much work and dedication it took for them to create the stories we know and love to read.

Then came the period of enlightenment! I had a story I wanted to create and pursue! But alas, things didn’t go as planned. I had created my characters and started working on further development of my plot. But, then I read a book…and it sounded exactly as my story, I had so carefully thought out! Nooooo!

So currently, it’s back to the drawing board for me. Though an obstacle has been thrown my way, I will not give up and will continue to work on writing! As in the great words of Dory….

Have you ever tried to write a novel or story? What was it like for you? Have you had your work published before? Let me know! 🙂

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