Finding 100 – Still Breathing At 100 Pages

On May 2, 2009 I started writing another story that I’m really excited about.  As of yesterday I reached the ONE HUNDRED PAGE mark and couldn’t be more thrilled.  Some of you may be wondering why it’s such a big deal to me, so I’ll give a short explanation.

For many years now (honestly since high school) I have not finished one story, short or novel.  My life has been crazy busy and my motivation for writing has been put on the back burner for a long time.  That’s not to say I haven’t written anything, I just haven’t finished any of the stories that I have started. :o)

What makes this time different?  Well, I can’t say for sure that here in a few months I won’t get distracted and bomb out on another story.  I mean, I have a wife, four kids, full time job; it’s really easy to phase out on writing.  But I can say that I have more desire and drive to finish this story than ever before.  I try and write everyday, at least two thousand words, and the days I don’t write I’m biting at the bit until I get the chance to write again.

Also, my family is very supportive of me.  Elizabeth is my biggest fan; she gives me encouragement to keep pushing through the story and always shows crazy excitement when I tell her that I added another major piece to the story today.  I talk with her about my ideas and she’s very open and receptive, she’s only read maybe a chapter of the story and already knows the character’s names.  Her investment, love, and encouragement in my work help’s me more than she will ever know.  My parents and sister also encourage me to dig deep and just write what’s inside my heart.  I can see it in their eyes that they are confident in the ability and talent the Lord has blessed me with.  I’m so thankful for their support.

And finally, I’m not afraid to write anymore.  I write fictional stories about incredible, out of this world situations, and try and make them relatable to the reader.  This is accomplished by my desire to write characters anyone can identify with, and put them into these crazy situations and see what happens.  This thought use to frighten me a lot.   I would worry about what others might think after reading my stories, it really held me back.  But I’m at a place now where I just want to write and see what happens.  I’m not trying to publish a best seller here that everyone loves…I’m just writing to satisfy this hunger in my heart that has not gone away since I was in middle school.

In the future I’ll blog out some of my experiences during my writing process and hopefully someone else might be inspired.  If you have any questions about writing, just hit me up, and I’ll do my best to answer you.  Remember, I’m not a professional…just a man with a few stories up his sleeve.