We are going to do things a bit differently this time around. As the title of this post might suggest, we are not talking about specific books, adaptations, or characters. Today, we are talking about the people behind the pages or screens.
Perhaps you are a fellow young person who loves to write and longs to publish your work. You dream of seeing your precious masterpiece on the shelves of stores and maybe even being made into a movie one day.
If you are anything like me (then and now), you might think, "This is it! This is my masterpiece! Watch out, world! Here comes the next (Insert any famous author of any genre here)!"
Or perhaps you are just a reader who sometimes wonders, "How do people do this? How can they become an author?"
Well, today, we will cover that by looking at someone I know very well and very personally: myself.
ONCE UPON A TIME...
Like all good stories, mine has a proper beginning and is surprisingly straightforward. Once upon a time, a little girl loved to tell stories. She loved to read and draw; above all else, she loved a good dash of imagination and stories to spice up her life.
Before she could write, the girl would draw out her stories, point to the drawings, and tell anyone and everyone what was happening in the picture. The most common story (and the one the above drawing belongs to) was her father's favorite, about a princess kidnapped by the evil rat king and rescued by a gallant and handsome prince.
This girl loved to tell stories so much that her mother had to teach her at a young age to say, “This is a story about…” because she would add a dash of excitement to real events that would, of course, confuse reality with her imagination. But, surprisingly, until the age of thirteen, this girl did not want to be an author when she grew up. She wanted to be a zoologist.
Still, she wrote stories all the time, and her first complete book, In the Locker Room, was loved by her sister and friend. She loved it too until she reread it and discovered she was not good at Contemporary Fiction and would much rather write a little genre called Fantasy for fun.
But around the same time, she read the Lord of the Rings. Now, she had already read Chronicles of Narnia, which had inspired her to begin a novel of her own. But Lord of the Rings, now that book series caused her eyes to pop out of her head and her mind to whirl with the depth and beauty of what an incredible story could bring.
She was determined that this story she was now writing would be the next epic fantasy saga to captivate the world.
DECIDING TO LEAP INTO ADVENTURE
But how does one make their book the next BIG book? How do you even craft a story? Characters? Plot? And even after it is done, how do you even get it published? Those are questions that many people mull over when they begin to write. I, like many others at that age, quite frankly...well, I didn't care, nor did I think about it. I just wrote, burning through several notebooks (yes, physical paper), brainstorming ideas, writing, and rewriting. At this point, I still wasn't sure about writing as a career. It sounded fun and was an option, but I just kept writing.
Then, it just so happened that my BFFEAE (Best Friend For Ever And Ever) told me about a program, and becoming an author as a career didn't seem so far away anymore. This little program was called Ydubs (Young Writer's Workshop), run by Brett Harris. It was all about teaching and growing young, budding writers.
Well, so long dreams of being a marine biologist! Hasta la Pasta longings to live on boats for weeks and study dolphins and sharks! Who cares if I had no writing training or knew any of the terminology? Why bother that I knew diddly squat about publishing or how that even worked? This middle school girl would be an author when she grew up. Just see if she didn’t.
This began my official journey into the world of writing.
THE WINDING ROAD
I wrote a good collection of novels during that time… but they are so embarrassing that I don’t want to discuss them.
But here! Please suffer with me as I dig up the old relics of my past! Here is the unedited beginning of one novel I worked on while still in Ydubs:
It was a cold, wet, freezing night on the Isle of Håp in the Torden Archipelago. The wind was tossing the waves, and the seas drenching the already soggy shore like the splash zone of a Sea Titan Arena.
But that was to be expected of mid-fall on the Dårligøyer Seas, which were a few months away from the mainland and a couple of hours south of complete arctic devastation, offering all the comforts a soupy mix of land, rock, and sea can offer.
Then again, it was beautiful that night, the Northern Lights sweeping the skies with blues and greens, throwing splashes of light and color onto the Viking village nestled in the fjord.
But with the wind screeching like a banshee with a bad hair day and the moon shining a little too bright, it was no wonder that two six-year-olds, Hakke and Lys, were lying awake in their bed.
-The Krigar Saga By Wee Little Madi
After several years in Ydubs, writing, critiquing, and growing A LOT, I pitched a plan to my parents.
I wanted to graduate two years early alongside my older sister. That way, I could join this little college program called the Author Program (at the time) that was forming as a branch of Ydubs. So, at sixteen years old, I graduated high school and dove into my quest to find a job. After a broken bone, two missed application deadlines, and finally, a fast-food job, I saved a good chunk of money and applied for the Author Program.
WELCOME TO THE KINGDOM
I almost had a heart attack when Brett answered the phone for our interview. I was nervous but overjoyed and determined when I was accepted and told of a plan to pay for school all by myself with no loans.
So, in January 2021, I joined the then-Author Program, which is now the Author Conservatory.
My first novel (Twisted) went smoothly. My second novel sucked (we do not speak of it). My novella was written before I did a craft training course, so after I did that course, I wrote two books in two months, "fanfiction" about Batman and Robin, which I consider the true revolution of my style and the beginning of finding my stride as a writer. But then I discovered something about myself: I get writer’s block after praise.
I had posted them on the fanfiction site Ao3 to overwhelming accolades from fans who considered them NOVELS and not just fanfiction. While most fanfics sit around 100 - 1,000 “views", mine jumped up to over 4,000 in no time and is currently over 7,000, with the second garnering even more fan interaction and accolades.
Because of this, I got into my head.
ENEMY APPROACHING - SELF DOUBT
Here's something you need to know, whether you are a casual writer, a young writer, or aiming to be a published author: Self-doubt? We all have it at one point in our journey, and it tends to stick. And, if you're like me, accomplishments only make it worse.
I am STILL in my head. It took me a whole month to write a 9,000-word short story and nearly half a year to draft my next novel.
I am a perfectionist who pressures myself way too much. With the praise and fan expectations raising the bar so high, my bar for myself has also been raised. I demanded perfection of myself in the first draft, even though I knew full well that this was impractical and would impede my ability to write.
But this is what you need to realize, just like I had to learn, especially if your aim is to get published one day....Whenever you pick up your pencil and paper or click on that document on your device, you sit down and you just write. It doesn't matter if it is a sentence, a paragraph, or a chapter. It doesn't matter if it is good because, let's face it, a rough draft rarely is. But here's the thing:
You can't edit a blank page. No one can read a blank page. You can't grow from the contents of a blank page.
But you might be thinking, "But my writing is terrible!" or, "I have writer's block!" or even, "I am not good at this. I should just give up." But you know...the same thoughts go through my head almost daily. But do you know what else? I have been given this gift to bring praise and honor to my Creator and King, so what else can I do than...well, use the gift?
Because of this, I was determined not to give up. I held to writing every day, celebrating the win of writing half a page in one sitting, then three pages in one sitting. And, of course, I threw a huge party when I finished my short story Obsidian Wings, which is now published in Voices of the Future Vol. One.
THE ADVENTURE IS JUST BEGINNING
All my work through the Conservatory finally paid off during the anthology launch and the Write to Publish Conference.
The Anthology Launch, while chaotic and happening during the busiest time at my job, Hobby Lobby (Holiday Season in a Retail Store. Ugh.), helped show me that I do know what I am doing. Yes, I can write and sell a fantastic story to people. Yes, I can do email marketing and promotions. Yes, I belong alongside other incredible young authors, and I can confidently stand before people and talk about my book.
But Graduation was around the corner, and those nasty doubts came again. Would I be ready to graduate? Do I deserve to graduate? What if no agent wants my stories? What if I make a fool out of myself in a pitching meeting? I AM NOT PREPARED! My mind screamed. Of course, time moved on, whether I was prepared or not.
The time finally came for the Write to Publish Conference, and I went to my graduation with a Query Letter, Book Proposal, and a One Sheet (book pitching materials) in hand. Graduation didn’t feel real, yet it hit me like a speeding truck. This was it. I was finally doing it. The dream was finally within reach. Then, it happened.
I, an introvert whose primary focus is NOT to go up and talk to important people if I can help it, who does NOT like to assert herself if she can help it or ask other people for things, went up to author Tricia Goyer after one of her keynotes. After introductions and comments back and forth, I dared to pop a question—eight small words that would change the course of my conference experience. “So…I heard you were looking for interns?”
Well, she took me as her intern, personally introduced me, and helped me pitch my novel to a head publisher of Enclave, a prominent Christian Fantasy publishing house...all over breakfast.
If that wasn’t the Lord smacking me aside the head in quick succession, I don’t know what was. After three years of hard work, doubt, struggle, triumph, and amazing people coming alongside me and lifting me up, something finally settled in. Maybe…perhaps….I am, no, scratch that. Not maybe.
I am an Author.
CONCLUSION
This is my story. This is how I went from enthusiastic storyteller to writer and, finally, to a published Author with a promising journey ahead. Obviously, every young writer's story is different. There are many other programs out there, many Creative Writing courses and such. You can do fiction, nonfiction, self-publish, try for traditional, etc. You might have a plan for many books, or perhaps you just want to get that one special book published.
I am here to tell you, don't be afraid to start now, and don't be afraid to chase that dream. It IS possible to have a sustainable career as an author. It IS possible to grow beyond where you are now and take the next steps. It IS possible to write that masterpiece and share it with the world.
To quote Ydubs:
Dear Young Writer,
You Have Permission to Dream Again
-Young Writer's Workshop
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