AFAWN - Getting Started - Part 5

An Audience of One (or Two)

This section is optional but highly recommended. Once you start writing, a chapter here, a chapter there, you may feel like the wind has been taken out of your sails. The initial excitement of trying something new may wane. I’ve had friends show me their initial chapters, only to find out that was the extent of their attempt into writing. And hey, if it’s truly not for you, then I get that. But when you first start, getting past the first few chapters can be hard on your own. If you have the drive and passion to write your story by yourself, then that’s amazing and good on you. But for those of us (myself included) who need a little push, I highly recommend finding someone (family or friend) that you trust AND who is also not a negative person. This second part is pretty critical.

Remember when I said your first chapter is probably going to be trash? Well, this is why you need someone positive. Imagine a child learning to play an instrument for the first time. After a bunch of lessons, they have a recital and it doesn’t sound great. Maybe they’re a little off key or their tempo is wrong. Do you deliver the harsh truth? Or do you recognize that they’re trying something new and they’re just a beginner and maybe they just need some encouragement?

I will forever be thankful to those I reached out to when my writing was truly awful. I set the goal for myself to write one chapter (2-3 pages) a week and send it to a small group of two or three people. Having an audience will do wonders for your desire to keep writing. Especially if you can have at least one person who’s like a cheerleader for you. I also can’t describe the feeling when those same people in which you confided tell you how much you’ve improved as you keep writing.

These are the people that I mention in my Dedication and Acknowledgements because I know that without them, I never would’ve had the discipline to keep going on my own. Thankfully, I’m at a point now where I don’t need that. I’m so deep into the story, I want to complete it for myself and any readers out there who have taken the time to read my books.