Ten Steps To Becoming A Fiction Writer
Thursday, June 7, 2012 at 10:07 PM
Once upon a time, there was a small girl who adored reading and dreamed of writing books of her own. But whenever she sat down to write, her efforts - to her mind - fell far short of the stories she liked to read. And so, after only a few paragraphs, she would tear up her words in disgust. And she decided she was no good at writing fiction.
The urge to write, however, never went away. Though she had no idea what she wanted to say. And was at a loss how to break through the barrier she had unwittingly set in her own way. There followed, therefore, many years of frustration and self-loathing.
Eventually, when she had pretty much given up all hopes of ever becoming the writer she wanted to be, she discovered the world of blogging. And promptly started a blog. She quickly found that, when it came to writing just a couple of paragraphs, she had plenty to say. But it didn’t really count, because real writers write fiction. Don’t they?
After she had been blogging for precisely two-and-a-half years, the girl found herself one day in front of a bookshop and stopped to peer at the window display. And there, right in front of her nose, stuck to the inside of the glass, was a poster advertising a short story competition. And something inside the girl said simply, ‘It’s time’. And so she went into the shop and asked for an entry form (Step 1).
The following day, she filled out the form (Step 2). Two days after that, she flew to Istanbul for the weekend, hoping that while she was there, an idea for her story would come to her (Step 3). But instead, she returned from Turkey with a whole completed story. Which had come so easily. And quickly. And not at all in the way she expected. Instead of having an idea then writing it down, the story had spun from the end of her pen as she wrote, surprising her as it unfolded as much as it might surprise a reader. Which was much the most fascinating and fun way to write (Step 4).
Next, she produced an image for her title page (Step 5) - which actually took longer to create than the story itself had taken to write. The next stage was to print and bind her curious tale (Step 6). And then to deliver it - ta da da! - to the bookshop (Step 7).
At home again, the girl composed a blog post, announcing she had won first prize, even before the competition closed (Step 8). Because she believed in the power of intention and of gratitude; and because she knew there was magic and synchronicity in this chain of events.
But then she had a realisation….an awakening (Step 9). It dawned on her that the magic lay not in winning the competition, but in the words streaming from her pen. And so, without waiting to hear the results of the contest, she hit the Publish button and announced to the world that she was now a writer of fiction (Step 10).
The Beginning
Reader Comments (4)
Well done Helen and hope this all leads to you realising your ambition to become a writer. Best Wishes
Very lovely and tenderly expressed, Helen! I hope all your writing dreams come true. :o) Like you I had dreams of being published writer, and wrote lots of stories and poems. Apart from a few poems in print, it was a long, hard journey that was daunting at time. I turned to handmade art/crafts as solace... I still kept writing though. Now I write mostly non-fiction/creative non-fiction. And even sometimes my work is out there on the web. It's still a journey... and I still love words as much as ever. :o) Thanks for sharing your story... ((HUGS))
What I love about 'once upon a time' stories is that they always end 'happily ever after'! {Even if it's not the ending you imagined, perhaps.} How exciting that this all happened; I would love to read the story! I have book writing desires too {although it's not exactly flowing over here yet!}, and it was interesting to read how your flow came about. Let us know the outcome of the competition! :)
such a clever and charming post. congratulations, fiction writer:)