Hello!

[KellyB]

Hi, everyone. My name is Kelly and I'm a new forum member. For as long as I can remember, I've had the idea of being an author in the back of my mind. The first time I remember trying to write something was back in my early teen years. I always liked to read as a child, but when I was a teenager I was too busy hanging out with my friends, and after I got married, and had a couple kids, I didn't really have the extra time for reading or thinking about writing. But then a little thing called Harry Potter came along and rekindled my love of reading. So, since then, I always have something I'm currently reading (right now, it's "A Game of Thrones" by George RR Martin). And, for about the past four years, that yearning to be an author has come back (I think it was my impending fortieth birthday that really kick-started my need to accomplish something).

Since then, I have read lots of articles online about how to write a novel, how to create characters, the difference between first-person and third-person, etc. It was enough to make my head spin. For about the past year, I've decided to really get serious about this writing thing. I've had several false starts, usually about a couple thousand words, before I stop and think "this is really crappy, who would want to read this" and then I just stop. I just haven't been able to get over my perfectionist tendencies. I currently have about three ideas in the back of my mind, so hopefully one of those will pan out. Most likely what I write will be some form of fantasy and/or sci-fi (my two favorite genres), although I've recently had the idea of writing a ghost story as well (my daughter and I went and saw "The Woman in Black" last weekend).

Anyway, that's a brief story of my life. Hope to see you all around the forums!

~Kelly~

 

[Klee Shay]

Welcome to Mythic Scribes. Let your characters run wild :running: and enjoy the ride. It works for me.

 

[Chilari]

Welcome to the Scriptorium! I'm glad to hear you're getting back into writing. It's sad when budding writers drift away from doing what they enjoy, but always good to hear when they rekindle that enjoyment.

I think every writer is plagued by that sense of self-doubt, the belief that something you've written isn't good enough. The trick is in knowing when to listen to that voice and when to ignore it.

Good luck with your writing. I'm sure you'll find loads of really great discussions here that you can get your teeth into and which can inform the way you write.

 

[KellyB]

I think every writer is plagued by that sense of self-doubt, the belief that something you've written isn't good enough. The trick is in knowing when to listen to that voice and when to ignore it.

Yeah, I've always been somewhat of a perfectionist. Sometimes, it's a good thing (catching mistakes before I've made them at work) and sometimes a bad thing (struggling to get things done on time). But, most especially it has hindered my attempts at writing. I just need to get past that and learn the art of writing a "first" draft and knowing that it isn't the finished work, that's what the rewrite is for. I understand all that, it's just putting it into practice that I need to work on.

Anyway, thanks for the welcome.

~Kelly~

 

[KellyB]

Welcome to Mythic Scribes. Let your characters run wild and enjoy the ride. It works for me.

Thanks for the welcome!

~Kelly~

 

[San Cidolfus]

Greetings and welcome to you, KellyB. It sounds like you've got the knowledge; you just need to hunker down, grit your teeth, and hammer out the work. No one improves overnight; what separates the writers from the rest is the determination to keep writing until we have the quality of expression to build the stories we want to tell. So carry on, sister.

 

[Aidan of the tavern]

Hi Kelly, glad you could join us. We all have the "this is really crappy" moments, and I can relate to having to suppress your inner perfectionist. I say this to everyone, even when they don't ask, because its one of the best policies I've found: For the first draft just write, and keep writing from beginning to end, don't keep going back and re-writing the previous sentence. You will feel your writing a really lame draft, and generally with that draft it is true, but if you keep re-writing as you go along you could be there for the rest of your life. But after the aweful draft you've got a foundation to work with, THEN you can go back, unleash that inner perfectionist, and make everything beautiful. But you probably already knew that.

 

[Reaver]

Welcome to Mythic Scribes, KellyB! As you can see, there are many knowledgeable and extremely helpful members here, some of whom have helped me hone my writing skills quite a bit. I encourage you to explore the threads that interest you & to also participate in the fun to be had in our "Challenges" forum.
Enjoy!