My first little e-book, Chronically Positive, has received a really nice reception. It's not a New York Times Bestseller by any means (lol!) but of you google it- it's the first thing that pops and that's a pretty neat thing. I always wanted to write. When I was a kid that was my version of wanting to be a police man or fireman when I grew up.
What held me back was a fear of failure and not knowing where I wanted to go with it. Like everyone else who wants to become a writer, I always imagined I would write "The Great American Novel". Conventional wisdom for writers says "write what you know" but I kind of felt that I didn't know anything worthy of a making an interesting novel. I would start, put it away, and forget about it and then repeat the cycle. Finally I just stepped back, put the writing bug in a particular compartment in the back of my brain and changed my dream. I love books in any way, shape or form so what could be better than helping shape good writing? I thought long and hard and decided that my dream job would be editing fiction. It would keep me in the realm of books and if I could do it at home- in my jammies- life would be just about perfect.
Then I started this little blog and I found all of you. The people who read this blog have been so supportive and so encouraging of my journey. I have enjoyed writing most every post. Even when I did a series and forced myself to write, it never became a "job". Instead it challenged me to keep going even when I didn't really feel like pushing myself. As I wrote and wrote and wrote (this will be the 336th post!) and wrote both from my head and my heart, the door on that little compartment in my brain opened up and I decided that I definitely know a little about living well with an adverse situation so I challenged myself to see if I could complete a book.
Chronically Positive may never sell to anyone who doesn't know me but I didn't write it to be a money-maker. I wrote it as a personal test and not only did I pass my test but more importantly, it helped me to find my voice. When I hit the "publish" button, something inside me gave a deep sigh. It was a feeling of having completed something that had been a long time coming. I thought that I would be satisfied when I shared it with the world but it seems that there is more in there just waiting to get out. And so I being again.
My next project is entitled "Chronic Living". Like Chronically Positive, I am writing it not just for those of us living with a chronic illness but anyone who is experiencing difficulties in their life. I have a list of 10 "chapter" ideas thus far and have already begun working on them. This is going to be a slow process because I want it to be better than the first because I want to grow from the first.
Now I am asking for your input. The title "Chronic Living" means to me that we are on a continuous journey to live with love, peace, happiness in our lives. It's about living authentically. It's about facing our challenges head on. My question for you is this- how are you acheiving your best life? What do you do, even though you are in a less than ideal situation, to make the best of it? You can leave a comment right on the blog, or if you would prefer not to share publicly- email me at ChronicallyPositive@gmail.com
I hope you have a terrific day and a lovely weekend!
What held me back was a fear of failure and not knowing where I wanted to go with it. Like everyone else who wants to become a writer, I always imagined I would write "The Great American Novel". Conventional wisdom for writers says "write what you know" but I kind of felt that I didn't know anything worthy of a making an interesting novel. I would start, put it away, and forget about it and then repeat the cycle. Finally I just stepped back, put the writing bug in a particular compartment in the back of my brain and changed my dream. I love books in any way, shape or form so what could be better than helping shape good writing? I thought long and hard and decided that my dream job would be editing fiction. It would keep me in the realm of books and if I could do it at home- in my jammies- life would be just about perfect.
Then I started this little blog and I found all of you. The people who read this blog have been so supportive and so encouraging of my journey. I have enjoyed writing most every post. Even when I did a series and forced myself to write, it never became a "job". Instead it challenged me to keep going even when I didn't really feel like pushing myself. As I wrote and wrote and wrote (this will be the 336th post!) and wrote both from my head and my heart, the door on that little compartment in my brain opened up and I decided that I definitely know a little about living well with an adverse situation so I challenged myself to see if I could complete a book.
Chronically Positive may never sell to anyone who doesn't know me but I didn't write it to be a money-maker. I wrote it as a personal test and not only did I pass my test but more importantly, it helped me to find my voice. When I hit the "publish" button, something inside me gave a deep sigh. It was a feeling of having completed something that had been a long time coming. I thought that I would be satisfied when I shared it with the world but it seems that there is more in there just waiting to get out. And so I being again.
My next project is entitled "Chronic Living". Like Chronically Positive, I am writing it not just for those of us living with a chronic illness but anyone who is experiencing difficulties in their life. I have a list of 10 "chapter" ideas thus far and have already begun working on them. This is going to be a slow process because I want it to be better than the first because I want to grow from the first.
Now I am asking for your input. The title "Chronic Living" means to me that we are on a continuous journey to live with love, peace, happiness in our lives. It's about living authentically. It's about facing our challenges head on. My question for you is this- how are you acheiving your best life? What do you do, even though you are in a less than ideal situation, to make the best of it? You can leave a comment right on the blog, or if you would prefer not to share publicly- email me at ChronicallyPositive@gmail.com
I hope you have a terrific day and a lovely weekend!
1 comment:
I look forward to your next book. I wish I had the dedication to put my thoughts into book form. Keep it up :)
Post a Comment