Yeah, it’s a little late for an intro, but I’ve rarely been good at following rules.
I grew up with the kind of dad who used a lighter to detect possible gas leaks in gas lines. A dad who said things like, “They let electricians do it! Of course you can wire your house!”
Because of this line of thinking, and my mother’s ENDLESS patience and support, I competitively show-jumped, I went to college, I became a teacher, I tried new things. Every year. At least one. Because of this dad, I drew plans for a house, because hey, they let architects do it! And then twice (because much like childbirth, you forget the pain) we built two houses starting with the plans, all the way to the final bits of paint on the walls. And there is nothing like building your own home.
But when it came to thing that I wanted to do more than anything else, that thing that felt so unattainable, I put off trying. I put it off by switching away from an English major in college. By keeping only a moderate journal. By quashing the idea as soon as it formed.
And then blogging became a thing. A big thing. Everyone had a blog! Even stay at home mom’s like me! And it was a struggle learning to stay home with the same single, small person every day after herding classrooms of middle and high school students. So I began to blog. The first ones were clunky, but they got better, more succinct. The writing came easier. Sharing small stories about our day became easier. That brilliant part of storytelling where some tidbit from the beginning, comes back around in the end… That got easier too.
So, one day I’m playing my guitar (guitarists do it!) and I had this idea for a story. We were feeling particularly broke at the time (student loans – almost everyone does it!) and driving up the road when I mentioned having this idea for a scene or story, and my husband said, “Why don’t you write that down? Just for fun?”
He had no idea what he would start with those few words.
I’ve been seriously writing close to ten years, worked with five publishers, done literary internships, switched agents, helped with writing conferences, attended many more, seen a few successes and many failures. Over thirty novels later, I’ve written a few stories.
Where/How did your writing journey begin?
~ Jo
When I first began writing, I had no notions of writing YA. I was going to be the next Nora Roberts or Sophie Kinsella. I hadn’t decided quite yet. And then I read Sarah Addison Allen, and I was terrified I’d never be able to write like that (I won’t, and that’s ok. We’re different). And I grew up reading Stephen King, but the idea of writing horror felt like I’d have nightmares every night during every project I wrote.
There’s a place for both humility and ego in any creative project. Ego has its place in drafting, in creating, in crafting… Humility is needed for editing and yes, crafting goes here too.
Wanna Know How/Where to Start Your Novel? Read a TON of first chapters. I’ll talk about published ones today, and unpublished ones in another post.
