Stories always start at the beginning

So here it is!  The start of my new blog.

I wanted to start a platform to just connect with people about my many hobbies/desires/jobs, etc.  And BOOM!  Blog!

I had never considered a blog before, but then I have been reading so many new blogs out there and thought, hey, why not me?

So today's thought is:  In a world of so many possibilities, why limit yourself?

I am currently in the process of writing my 11th novel.  That's right.  Number 11, and that is probably calling it a little short because I have written many freehand stories over my many years that I haven't counted all of them.  But there is a solid 11 in my computer.  I have been writing since I can remember.  I think my first "book" was a picture book was something I put together on yellow legal paper that my dad had given me.  I was eight years old at the time and I had cut up the paper into the appropriate sized squares, stapled the "binding", and then put together my story. It was a fantasy story about a dragon living in a cave that befriended a girl who lived in a town at the base of the mountain. All of this, of course, was inspired by many things:  a series of small caves on the hillside that one could see out the back window of my house.  But there were so many other things that went into creating that story.

I love movies. No.  You don't understand.  I LOVE MOVIES.  And the movies of my childhood inspired a lot of what I wanted to write.  I decided at a very young age that some movies needed a little tweaking.  A new scene here.  An additional character there.  And sometimes, I decided that the ending needed to be entirely re-written.  So, that's what I did.  I made a story of my own, adding the characters I wanted and changing the ending the way IT SHOULD HAVE ENDED!  Even now, I get so frustrated when a movie just misses the mark.  I find myself shouting at the screen (usually with the little voice in my head), saying "why did you do that?  You just ruined it!"

I soon found myself making entirely new stories.  Now, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't have a story or three floating around my brain.  It has gotten to a point that I must write regularly to just clear out the jungle growing inside my skull.

So that is how I have 11 full length novels in my computer, and that list will continue to grow until the day I die.

It wasn't until about two years ago that I seriously considered getting at least one of them published.  I always felt that my stories were good.  Hell, I would love to read something like that!!  But I knew that I wasn't telling the story quite right, but I didn't know what to do about it.  Like anybody else, criticism is hard to take.  I wanted to share my stories, but I was afraid that nobody else would like them.  Then, I went to my first writer's conference.  That made such a difference in my writing.  I finally figured out what I was doing wrong and how to fix it.  I learned about self-editing and the business of books.  I finally could see that there was a possibility of letting someone else other than my parents read my books!!!

I could go on, but I will save that for another time.  Right now, though, I am in the process of submitting on of my favorite novels to an agent and I hope to be able to share it with the world soon.  It was my first attempt at young adult writing and I was kind of shocked at how much I enjoyed it.  From friends and family that have read it, I thank you for your input and we shall keep our fingers crossed that this will be available at some point to all of you!

So until next time,

"I want sharks with friggin' laser beams on their friggin' heads!"

Coming up:
Why do I ghost hunt?
My job and my writing
Why KISS is the greatest band ever
Painting is a form of therapy