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My Writing Journey

I began this journey in 2014. I know from reading about other authors that there is a tendency to feel like a fraud unless you are a successful author. Over and over again I would tell myself that J.K. Rowling was a writer before her first Harry Potter story became a hit ( not that I am comparing myself to her in any way) and that Jane Austen too was a skilled writer long before she was validated by a publisher and the public.
In May of this year I attended my second LDStorymakers Conference (now called Storymakers). Jennifer A. Nielsen author of The False Prince was one of the keynote speakers and her talk kind of changed my life. She likened writing to climbing Mount Everest and told us to decide what our definition of 'success' in our writing was. Was it to make it to base camp or was it higher? She said that once you reach your goal, let's say it was base camp, you can look around and see other levels to climb. Then you can decide on your next goal or mountain peak. This analogy was so incredibly helpful. Of course, to a relative newcomer like me, she seems to have reached the summit of her writing career but then she showed us the pile of rejection letters she received before The False Prince was published and I finally really felt like,"I can do this!"
Writers in Utah are so collaborative. They are so willing to help other writers. They are an amazing resource. I am a member of the Utah Valley Writers who offer critique sessions and education lectures. I have learned SO much about the writing and publishing process from them. Invaluable.
If you are beginning this journey just know that the day you start writing you are a writer, an author. When people ask you what you do, proudly declare, "I am an author."

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