It looks like toil but it's not if you love it.
Recently I completed the first smooth draft of my new book, "The Long Road Back," the first in my "Coastal Carolina Series" about a young man returning from the Civil War to his native North Carolina to forget the pain and suffering of war. He was coming home to begin a new life on the Carolina Inner and Outer Banks. It's a fictional story based upon a historical background and it is designed to bring those times to life for the reader. It's been an ambitious undertaking and the feeling I have as a writer seeing all the parts come together in written format creates a natural high that only another writer can appreciate. The work, however, is far from over as I must now complete my first comprehensive review with changes as needed and that has already begun. Then there are the multiple spell checks and additional proofreads and tweaks before turning it over to the "murder board" of my editor. When that's done, there is the layout, the cover design and, finally, the final product which provides even a bigger high as it finally is published and I see it in print.
So, some often ask why do I do this kind of work? Why do I spend so much time and labor on something that isn't a sure bet with the reading public? They are good questions but I simply say that I do it for the love of writing. There is something about having an avocation that affords the opportunity to escape from the sometimes hum ho, sometimes hectic and stressful atmosphere that surrounds us in real life. When I write, I am in my own world, seeing the story clearly in my mind as it unfolds on paper and when it is all done, it gives me a form or self-satisfaction that I really can't describe adequately.
Do I want to see my work do well? Or course I do and the longer I write and the more practice I get, the more successful my works become. Writing is like anything else that one might want to excel at doing, it takes a lot or practice and work. But like the marathon runner who finally gets his second wind, at some point writing is no longer work, it becomes a joy. That's where I find myself today.
This current work will likely take up to two months to be ready to publish, but now at the point where I know my efforts will soon get me where I want to be with it, my joy will keep me on track until the finished product is done. And then what will I do? Well, I'll take a little break, start self-marketing my work and before long I'll be at it again. After all, I've got a series to finish.
I'll let you know when "The Long Road Back," the first book in my "Coastal Carolina Series" is available on both Amazon Prime (paperback) and Kindle Unlimited (ebook). In the meantime, my current book, "Summers at Old Nags Head" is still available in those same formats and if you love nostalgia and the beach, you'll love it for sure.
WRITING: ONCE IT GETS A GRASP ON YOU, YOU JUST CAN'T STOP.
So, some often ask why do I do this kind of work? Why do I spend so much time and labor on something that isn't a sure bet with the reading public? They are good questions but I simply say that I do it for the love of writing. There is something about having an avocation that affords the opportunity to escape from the sometimes hum ho, sometimes hectic and stressful atmosphere that surrounds us in real life. When I write, I am in my own world, seeing the story clearly in my mind as it unfolds on paper and when it is all done, it gives me a form or self-satisfaction that I really can't describe adequately.
Do I want to see my work do well? Or course I do and the longer I write and the more practice I get, the more successful my works become. Writing is like anything else that one might want to excel at doing, it takes a lot or practice and work. But like the marathon runner who finally gets his second wind, at some point writing is no longer work, it becomes a joy. That's where I find myself today.
This current work will likely take up to two months to be ready to publish, but now at the point where I know my efforts will soon get me where I want to be with it, my joy will keep me on track until the finished product is done. And then what will I do? Well, I'll take a little break, start self-marketing my work and before long I'll be at it again. After all, I've got a series to finish.
I'll let you know when "The Long Road Back," the first book in my "Coastal Carolina Series" is available on both Amazon Prime (paperback) and Kindle Unlimited (ebook). In the meantime, my current book, "Summers at Old Nags Head" is still available in those same formats and if you love nostalgia and the beach, you'll love it for sure.
WRITING: ONCE IT GETS A GRASP ON YOU, YOU JUST CAN'T STOP.
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