My History as a Writer (3/3)

(Continued from last week)

I made a few more attempts at writing full-length novels, but I can't remember what those attempted stories were about.  I'm remember thinking that the stories would probably end up being more like practice instead of being finished.  By the time I got to college (2002-2006), I replaced fiction with non-fiction by posting my thoughts on Myspace, a website that was really big at the time.  This was the first time I really felt validated as a writer because I could track views, know that I my articles were being read, and I would receive comments and praise with almost everything I wrote.  My articles were mostly about current events in the news, hot topics around campus, and notable events in my life.  I eventually stopped using Myspace after they began changing their interface, but I think the original layout was something I would still be using if it hadn't changed.

It wasn't until a few years ago that I tried to write a story that I intended to take over the 60,000 word mark.  The story was about a girl obsessed with death after fighting, and winning, her battle with cancer.  She would unwittingly trap herself within a tight-knit circle of cannibals.  I planned for the story to be a member of the thriller/horror genre, and wanted to depict realism while engaging in some of the most horrific and surreal imagery I could imagine.

After another long attempt, I put it that story away for a while.  Yea, that seems to be a trend with me, but I intend to break that trend in favor of actually completing a full-length book.  One of the biggest problems for me in the past was the big "slush pile" scenario that kept running though my head.  For anyone who doesn't know, "slush pile" is a term used for the stack of manuscripts that end up at a publishing company.  That sad reality, until very recently, was that if the guy reading the first few pages of your manuscript deemed you unworthy your story would be scrapped.  Hopefully, he or she would send some advice along with your rejection letter.  If not, you might be left with a nice, simple "Sorry, but your story isn't right for us."  With work, relationships, and all other life stresses, I let myself lose the confidence I needed to continue in that kind of environment.

This year, I have successfully self-published two short stories.  This isn't the end goal, of course, but knowing that the stories have been downloaded, put into libraries, and actually read gives me the confidence to continue.  Not only that, I'm back to writing a full-length book again.  Will this one get erased?... No, it will not.  This book has a firm outline, and not only do I see the story clearly in my head, it also comes out as it should onto my word processor.  Does it still feel hard to attempt a novel?  It's one of the hardest things I've ever done.  That being said, only the worst case scenarios would drive me away from finishing this science fiction novel.  If it's harder than I think, I will push back my self-imposed deadline, but I'm finishing this book... This year!  The change in the environment is obvious, and I've never felt better about being a writer.

While working on the full-length book, I'm also a member of the Yahoo! Contributor Network, where I post non-fiction articles, reviews, how-to's and opinions (just like in college).  I get paid according to page views, and will leave a link to my page at the end of this entry.  Getting paid the first time by Yahoo! for writing an article (about something I was genuinely interested in) was like having a small portion of my dream come true.  I was writing for money.  While I'm not able to make a living from writing articles, I still enjoy the work.  You will learn more about me and my interests by taking a look at some of my articles, and will be helping me earn a little extra income by doing so.

I've also been writing some short stories to keep my interest in writing fiction high.  I have a wide range of interests, and will compile the stories into collections to be released at a later date.  Because the novel I'm writing is science fiction, I'm almost certainly releasing a book of science fiction short stories.  I'm probably going to focus on two other short story books before coming out with a second full-length novel, one focusing on insanity, and the other focusing on the paranormal.  Short stories have always been easy for me to write, and I've learned that writer shorter stories is a learning process, making it easier to write longer stories as I gain experience...  As for the story about the death-obsessed girl who lives among crazed cannibals??  That's the second full-length novel on my agenda, and I'm already looking forward to writing it AFTER I finish the first one.  Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for something different.



My Smashwords Account - Currently, this is the only place you can find the two short stories I've self-published:  https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jdh112683

My Yahoo! Contributor Page - Non-fiction, reviews, how-to's, and opinions.  Whenever I write something that's not going to go into book format, it's going here:  http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/1608746/josh_hicks.html