On Writing

Writing is in my bones. Has been ever since I can remember. I would write “books” and stories on the bumpy hour-long ride home every day after school. I could escape the farting, booger-picking, noogie-giving bullies on the yellow bus by delving into secret worlds that I created. I would enter contests, compete at UIL Ready Writing, and actually looked forward to writing essays in English class. Nerd, I know.

I remember the day we had a publisher run a contest at our school. Whoever won the competition would become a published author. I could not believe the opportunity given to our class of 22 at our tiny 1-A school in West Texas! This was it—the big time. This was my opportunity to become a break-out author. Let me sign the autographs now. I don’t even remember what I wrote about. We were given a prompt and subject matter, but it was one of those moments—you know—when an actress obviously expects to win the Academy Award and stands up before her name is called, only to shrink back in her seat when another name is shouted. Yup. I was devastated as another student was called to the front of the auditorium when they announced the winning manuscript. Ha. The reason I bring this up is that I’ve since learned from other authors that what makes one a true author is the ability to keep trying—keep writing—after rejection. Because rejection is going to happen. Definitely. For sure. If you’re also a writer, it will probably make you too feel better to hear that the greats Agatha Christie, J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, and C.S. Lewis have all been rejected by publishers. I don’t mean to get pleasure from another’s pain, but these are all best-selling authors, so I bet they’ve moved on. It’s called sweet revenge.

I think one of the hardest things about writing is sticking with it and making time to write. No one has time to write. Seriously. After working a 50-hour work week, going grocery shopping, then cooking all that stuff, getting in the recommended hour-a-day exercise, eight-hours of sleep, quality spouse time, and picking up dog poop in your backyard—who has the time to write?!

But, they say the way to become a writer is to write. It can’t be that simple. Okay, I’m going to try it. I’ve created this website to hold myself to it. If you also enjoy to write or read I invite you on this journey with me. I’ll notify you when I post something for you to read (I promise not to send you a jillion emails every week and to keep your email confidential). My posts will mainly be on traveling, West Texas, writing, and reading (with an emphasis on Southern literature), but also my observations on life and the characters that make up this awesome planet.

Thanks for joining me on this journey!

~Bren