When I was a little girl, I made a declaration. I was quite young, sitting at the table with my dad, learning how to write my name. The simple act of pressing the pencil to the paper and formulating a word out of lines and curves fascinated me. I turned to my dad with excitement and said, “When I grow up, I’m going to be a writer!” Of course, at that time, I had no idea what that even really meant. But, as young as I was, I recognized how happy and excited it made me feel and I wanted to do it for the rest of my life.
All through my school years, I wrote stories. Short stories, chapters, screen-plays, poems. Everything. There were always thoughts and ideas dancing around in my head, stories to be told, characters to bring to life, adventures to take. I would spend hours sprawled out on my bed, music blasting, writing tirelessly in spiral bound notebooks, creating imaginary worlds that I explored on paper. My attention span for a story, at that time, was pretty short. I would burn out a few chapters in, about that time a new idea would spark and I would start all over again.
When I was twenty-two, I was 75% done writing a book that I had poured my heart into. It was a story of a girl who had lost the boy she loved due to a tragic accident, she was lost, but slowly finding herself and her ability to love once again. I was over the moon with my story, after all, I had poured my heart and soul into telling Gabrielle’s story. But then my own tragedy happened- my computer crashed. Along with it, my story. When everyone asked me repeatedly, “Didn’t you have it backed up?” Much like Carrie Bradshaw, my response was always a clueless, “Uhhh… I don’t do that.”
Enter Writer’s Block. Six whole years of it. Photography actually became a vital part of my life at that time, which filled the creative void within me that I was struggling with. What I didn’t know was just how much it would change me as a writer. Over the past year, I can honestly say that my writing has improved drastically. How I see things now is so different, which has allowed me to write in a visual way. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.
I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. When I lost my story, I was devastated. But now, when I think back to that story and the way I had written it, how underdeveloped my characters were and how it lacked an underlying message, I now see that it was never the story I was meant to tell. You see, my role as a writer is to breathe life into characters and tell THEIR stories in a way that is authentic and beautiful. I get to give my characters, Hailey & Jonah, a voice, a reason, a message and a story. And I feel so much satisfaction in that, I believe that writing isn’t something that I just want to do. Writing is something I am meant to do.
I recently created a new Facebook Page, where I am posting snippets from Reckless. I would LOVE to have you join me over there so you can get to know Hailey & Jonah and be a part of their love story. Once we get up to 300 likes, I’ll be posting another sneak peek from the book! Thank you so much, to all of you, who have loved and supported me along this journey. This is only the beginning and I can’t wait to see where this road takes us. Much love!
