My First Attempt

When I was 17 I decided that I'd start writing a fantasy novel. Seems reasonable, right? Did to me at the time, too. I knew absolutely nothing about writing a book, so I simply took up a notebook and a pen and began scribbling. I wrote seven pages in that feverish first session, and figured upon reading that it was good enough (it wasn't, by a long shot!) and that I enjoyed it enough (this, however, completely fair and reasonable) to continue.

However, it still took a fucking long time to finish. More than a decade, truth be told, and then I had to rewrite it entirely in order to publish it via Kindle. It was still crap, but it was no longer presented in the first person, and it had been extended slightly.

I'll be perfectly honest, the initial response was actually very positive; I earned over $500 in slightly less than a week with absolutely no marketing other than the free stuff that Amazon will allocate you. A few positive reviews, no 5-star but a few with 4... then with one single 1-star review that actually, I will admit now, had a few points that I might have wanted to listen to... it all ceased.

I've just started a rewrite of this same novel, after unpublishing the original shit version a few years ago. The story is still fun and engaging, the characters memorable, the process laborious yet rewarding and entertaining (the writer has to be entertained, or else how the Hell is the reader supposed to be?) but now I have a couple more decades of experience and knowledge regarding this whole writing caper.

I would never claim to know what I'm doing, however, and I feel like many of you can relate to this... we just write. Some of it is glorious! Some is utter garbage. The public response to this first novel? In hindsight, I'd still call it successful, in the sense that I've learned from it. The rewrite is progressing slowly, as life is also happening at the same time and is often more demanding of one's time than perhaps it should be. That coupled with the sheer number of other stories that also need to be told that are slowly but surely tearing their way out of my subconscious are delaying things somewhat... but it will happen.

This time, as well, it will be properly edited. By an editor. Then by me, then the editor again. We won't publish until and unless we're BOTH satisfied with the result. It is also, I might add, after going out of my way to learn a bit about the craft. And writing and publishing another entire series, that also needs a rewrite, though less badly in some ways...

The interesting thing will be the end result. It may not sell anywhere near as well as the original, it may outsell it ridiculously. I know which I'm hoping for.

It doesn't matter, in the end. I create. It's what I do. I'm a Creator. So are you, reading this, almost certainly. If not, welcome! Hi! My name's Dave, what's yours? What brings you here, if not the act of Creation?

In any event, as a Creator, I create. Consumers then consume what people create. If they consume my content, then that is awesome, amazing and otherwise wonderful. If not? Well, I'm not going to be all bitter and upset. I'll just keep on creating either way. I have to. If I don't, strange and weird things start happening to my mind... I MUST pour it out into writing. I have no choice.