In J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, the story of Bilbo Baggins leaving the comfort and safety of his own home and people, and joining a group of dwarves to go on a long and dangerous journey so they can eventually take on an even more dangerous dragon...reminds me of the beginning of a writer's life.
Though Bilbo had always lived a relaxed and organized life, the adventurer deep within him left all his things that made him feel secure, behind. He had no money, no walking-stick, and not even a hat, when he left. But he did take something with him that perhaps he never before realized he had. And that was courage.
Every writer, just like every hero or heroine in a story makes a choice to begin this exciting and rather scary journey in their life. They have no idea what is ahead of them. A writer's journey starts even before they have any education or experience in the field. They just have a dream. They just a passion. And they just a very huge amount of courage!
If you are someone who has just discovered that writing is what you want to pursue, and you are 100% serious about taking this plunge, then you understand the overwhelming and scary risks and fears this decision involves.
If you are an experienced writer, you can think back and remember those days when you first started and all the fears that you faced.
I smile as I think of the beginning of my writer's journey. I had always loved telling stories when I was a little girl. I had an entire dream world in my head, and a ridiculous imagination like Anne Shirley from the Anne of Green Gables books. And when I was twelve years old, I wrote my first book, The Gadget Girls. I printed it off from the computer and still have it saved away with many of my other writings and poems from when I was young.
As I got older, I would tell bed time stories to the children I babysat. Too many times, they'd be up way past their bedtime, as my stories grew long and detailed. Then throughout high school I worked on a couple stories here and there. I had a bad habit of getting halfway through one, then coming up with another, and starting a brand new one.
Though I've always enjoyed writing, I also love many other things, and I simply never thought that I'd ever become this serious about it. But the year after I graduated high school, and was teaching art classes, I suddenly came up with a story idea that seemed to stand out to me more than any other idea I'd ever had.
In the next post I'll talk about how I thought of the idea and where the inspiration came from. But tonight I just want to share a little about how I got started on pursuing the writer's life.
As I started writing, this time, the characters were so real in my head, I felt as if I personally knew each of them. The story started to unfold, and for the first time, I stuck to it. There was something about this story that made me feel like it needed to be written. I hadn't taken any creative writing courses. I had only read a little bit of a book on writing. I wasn't going to school to earn a degree in English.
Like Bilbo, I was flying out the door without my walking stick! But as I began this journey, I learned that I loved writing more than anything else I've ever done.
I have complete confidence it was God who put the story idea in my head. And though the story has changed DRASTICALLY in the last four years, I am so thankful that I got on this path. This story and I have been through so much together, and I wouldn't be where I am today, refining it so it is its absolute best, if I hadn't ran out the door to face a world unknown.
Every book has a beginning. And every dream does too. We all start somewhere. If you are just beginning this journey as a writer, take courage. If you truly love it, you will be able to face the obstacles and fears that you will encounter on the way.
If you have read the ending of The Hobbit, you know it was a pretty good idea that Bilbo left his home to go with the dwarves. If it wasn't for him, well...we wouldn't have Tolkien's entire Lord of the Rings trilogy.
If you have a book in you, write it! You will never know what will happen until you begin
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