Hello world!

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Hello World!

Image Courtesy of Unsplash

That’s the first title of the sample blog post that appears when you start a brand new Word Press website post. “Hello World.” Optimistic, approachable, and a subtle reminder that what you are about to type is about to be spewed across the internet, forever tagged and SEO’d and input into the cloud, linked to my name, and published to the world. 

Terrifying. 

As an aspiring author, I should be gnawing at the bit to get the P word. Published. That’s the dream, right? Get my writing, my words, in front of audiences around the world. 

But there is something different about writing a book and blog post.

I’m currently writing a novel that’s somewhere between middle grade and young adult fantasy. It’s about four young teens who each control an element, set in a world where that kind of magic is banned in the commonwealth, but weaponized when discovered. Together, they learn to use their powers and, eventually, try to take on the oppressive monarchy. 

Think Tamora Pierce’s Circle of Magic meets Avatar the Last Airbender. 

It’s a passion project I started in 2016, but have worked on intermittently since. 

This year, after a fateful computer failure, I picked up my pen again, and found the inspiration to continue. I took my 50,000 words of disparate scenes and notes, and I stitched together a true cohesive narrative. Not a good one (yet), but a single story, all the same!

Now close to 70,000 words, I’ve learned I need to dig deep and work on the developmental edit. I need to lay out the entire story as it is, and find the plotholes, the sagging middle, the flat character arcs. I have the words, and the basics of the story, and characters I like, but it’s not right yet. There are gaps. Big and small.

One thing I’ve learned so far about writing a book is that I have very little to show for it while it’s in progress. I can’t show it to my friends and family, who are eager to imbibe and support (or critique). Their curiosity is insatiable, and I count myself lucky to have a supportive network. But with my novel in its current state, I cannot stand having someone else read it. It’s the irony of a near-miss. And my well-meaning family is not the target audience for this, especially as it is now. A writing group would be good, maybe. Critique partners would be helpful. An objective eye to look past the clunky prose and help me build a story worth telling.

But I don’t have that right now. I’m going to slog through one more draft before I even breach the subject of showing it to someone. Anyone. And I’m a little stuck. 

Which is a big part of why I started this website. I need a little more motivation and external accountability. If I announce to the world, “Hello, world! Look at what I’m doing,” I’d better have something to show. I want to have some kind of proof for my hours of work, my days of musing, my years of having this project in the back of my mind. 

So, I may not be ready to show the world, or even my family, what I’ve been working on, but I’m here, trying, ready and brave enough at least to say “Hello, World” into the void of the internet as I work toward my goals.

Hello, World. Welcome to my author website, my blog of thoughts and ramblings as I keep myself on track on the next draft of my novel.