LTUE Or Why I Started a Blog

I have been a writer/story teller longer than I can remember.  My family recalls my stories from as young as 3 years old about things I should have known nothing about (i.e. Easter Island and buffalo).  I took as many creative writing classes in high school and college as my science degree allowed.  When I wasn't saving the world through research, I was writing and still am.

At first it was a way to express myself as a kid/teenager then it morphed into a way to entertain my young daughter.  Finally it developed into a passion to share the ideas that formed in my head; to pull out the characters and plots that plagued my waking moments and put them on the page.  I wasn't kidding when I said I hear voices.  Most of the time, it is characters screaming, "PAY ATTENTION TO ME!  You left me dangling in a horrible situation.  Let's find out what happens next."

I have two "completed" novels and a handful of short stories.  We won't even count the random incomplete stories and randomly jotted down ideas.  Are any of these ready to share with the world?  Absolutely not!  That is why I joined an amazing critique group and attended Life, the Universe, and Everything writing conference this year.  This was my first writer's con and it was pretty much like trying to drink from a fire hose.

The three main things I learned:

1. Writers are varying degrees of awkward misfits, but that is why we love them.  Writing is art; artists are odd.  Period…

2. There is no right or wrong way to write.  The rules are made to be broken, but if you do break them, do it well.  The only wrong way to write is to NOT do it.

3. As an author, you have to promote yourself just as much as your work.  This is true for mainstream publishing, indies or even self published authors.

These three items are why I started a blog.  It keeps me from becoming the Crazy Cat lady, forces me to write daily and helps me promote my work.  Work in which I promise to share with the world, after a revision or two.