Write or Wrong

Someone asked me today if I was a writer. I told him I wasn’t, which is true for the most part. Perhaps a more accurate answer would have been, I’d like to be. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to be a writer. I used to write stories and fanfiction all the time.

I remember writing a story in seventh grade called ‘The Terrible Truth About Six Flags’. It focused on a group of friends who went to the amusement park and hid so that they could stay after closing. They somehow managed to stay in the park and work some of the rides, but began disappearing one by one as the night wore on. 

Round about the same time I discovered fanfiction. More specifically BTVS fanfiction. I would spend hours writing about Spike and Buffy and the Scooby Gang. I would even write stories in class and let my friends read them for entertainment. Not so much now.

Another of my early works/still a work in progress is called The Never Ending Mystery. Not the cleverest of titles, I know. If I ever did manage to finish it, that would probably need to be rectified. I wrote the entire thing in my bathtub. In one day. Maybe I should consider spending a little more quality time with that tub these days. 

TNEM has been through many a change. Originally it was a one shot story with a dire ending. From there it became the first in a mystery series about two girls who opened their own detective agency with $1,999. I actually wrote a prequel to TNEM called The First Big Case. I typed it sometime in my middle school days. All in caps. On Word Pad. You can imagine the spelling and grammar errors on that one. But I’ll give it to younger me, she knew how to finish something.

I saw a quote recently on Pinterest talking about rough drafts. It basically said, it’s called a rough draft for a reason, but we’ve all got to start somewhere. Goal #1 when writing should be to finish that first draft. That seems to be the most challenging part for me. What happened to all of my ambition? The stories I wrote as a kid may not have been the best, but at least they were complete.

I can’t help but think about Nick from New Girl right now. He wrote his entire story when no one thought he could. And yeah, it was crap, but he finished it. I think it’s about time I followed suit. 

Having read a ton of books in the last 15 years, I feel more pressure now to add in the details and descriptions that didn’t cross my mind when the first draft of TNEM was completed. And those things are important, but I think what is most important right now is figuring out the bulk of the plot and worrying about the details in draft two.

The next step in my new life mission to figure me out is to write a complete rough draft of TNEM, even if it sucks! And all short term goals must have a deadline. Mine will be April 30th at midnight. A little over two months to get this thing together. I know technically it's a list item that doesn't have to be completed until December but if I can finish the rough rough draft soon, maybe I can make it worth reading by the end of the year. Fingers crossed.

Even though I've wanted to be a writer for most of my life, I'm still not convinced I'm that good at it. But how will I ever know if I don't try? If I don't put my work out there? So that, my friends, is exactly what I plan to do.

Updates to come!