When I chose
Fiction as my "F" word, I really wasn't sure what direction I wanted
to take this post. Was it that I always
dreamed of writing fiction? That I grew
up reading fiction? Well, that is kind
of a Duh, no? Most anyone who dreams of
writing fiction grows up reading it.
Then I realized that this was another Circle Story. What's that, you ask? Seinfeld did it all the time. The story started off here, and ended there,
and it was actually One Big Ole Circle.
Hilarious. I look at my life and
see a lot of Circle Stories. Yeah, not
as funny as Seinfeld. Moving on...
When I was
in high school, and Oh-So-Certain of where I was going in my life, and my
"Career Path," yada yada yada, I heard the story for the first time of
my mother quitting college because... wait for it... she couldn't decide on a
major. At the time, I thought this was
Hilarious (as in actually Laugh Out Loud Funny), and I told the story to anyone
who would listen, and then doubled over, and practically rolled on the
floor. Sooooo funny. How could someone quit because they were
Undecided???? What in the name of Jesus
was she thinking? Bwahahahaha.
After one
miserable Freshman year, I came to a very sad and unfortunate conclusion: I was
wrong. I was not going to major in
Music. That was not going to be my
Career Path. My Career Path was now this
Blank Slate. I was void. So, I took a year of Core Classes, certain
that something would come to me; I would
find my answer. I did not. I finished up my Sophomore year with a
whimper. I distinctly recall sitting in
my Guidance Counselor's office, and having The Conversation about "What
are we going to do now," since Music was off the table, and I had to
declare SOMETHING in order to choose my classes for the Fall. Egads.
It was happening already; I had
turned into my mother. Karma is a
terrible thing. It was taking it's
revenge. I wasn't laughing now. I would never even be able to tell The Story
again. "Don't ask for whom the bell
tolls. It tolls for thee." Well played, John Dunne. Well played.
I chose
English. I chose my Major based on the
fact that I liked to read. I had nothing else.
All I knew was that I wasn't quitting.
You can bet your sweet (fill in the blank) that I read a lot. I packed that entire major into two
years. I read and read and read some
more. And when I wasn't reading, I was
writing. Good times.
Since then,
I have tried my hand at writing fiction.
If you have read this blog for a LONG TIME you will remember the elation
of when that process was going well, followed by the crushing angst of the
crash and burn. What happened? I discovered that I did it wrong. Turns out writing fiction is like booking a
trip. You absolutely must know where you
are going. Like a bonehead, I had a
story fairly well plotted out, but I didn't have my ending all sewn up. Now I feel like a moron saying it out loud
because it seems... well, obvious. So, I
quit writing where I was and jumped to the end.
But, I could never make the two meet.
I don't think the constant migraine did anything to shore up this
problem. Eventually, my excitement for
the project was outweighed by my annoyance.
That was when it got shelved.
Of course,
that isn't the first book I have started.
Or the first Idea For An Excellent Novel that has ever burned across my
brain. That is just the one with actual
chapters and word count. That said, I
don't fancy myself a Great American Novelist.
I don't have this gift for weaving words together so lyrically that you
will cry, though that would be lovely. I
just like to tell a rollicking fun ride
of a story. Barring that, if you aren't
bored out of your mind, I would say it is a win.
Until I
muster the will to start again on The Book, this blog is my writing outlet...
and I just don't see myself quitting.
Why? Because it just isn't in
me. Now, that is truth and not fiction.
Fiction
Rating: Passion, Phase, and Life Lesson (this one gets the Trifecta)
image found at www.weheartit.com
Are you a fiction or non-fiction reader? When did the read you become an avid reader? Have you tried your hand at writing? If you are a published writer, did you publish the first thing you wrote or did you have several discarded novels lying around before you finally got it "right?"
