I’ve spent so long writing without even considering myself a writer.
My whole life, in fact.
Moments of desperation, hair-pulling frustration, and overflowing love were the only things that drove me to my notebooks. I saw my writing as a byproduct of me “filling up,” so I would put the excess onto the page.
I never considered it writing. Venting, processing, exploring, yes — but never writing.
Recently, I started asking myself, “Why not take it seriously?” If I’m going to be writing anyway, why not make it an intentional practice that I feel good about? Maybe even…get better at?
I’ve spent the past few months trying to write a book, and not succeeding. My efforts haven’t been consistent, and my limiting beliefs were louder than my desire to tackle this thing that I admire.
I started in February of 2019, with a friend. (Read about it in this post). After that attempt, I branched off on my own in October of 2019. I took December off. As of January 2020, I have 3 chapters and a fair amount of development done.
That got me reflecting on the successes of my past, and how I could learn from myself. I graduated high school, college, continued straight through and got my Master’s degree, and got my teaching license, all in a surprising amount of time. I had put my head down, done the work it took, and saw it through.
The difference is that those accomplishments were external, with an outside agency making clear demands of me that I had to rise up and achieve.
How could I make writing — about as individual a task as you can get — involve outside forces?
I thought I’d try a blog.
I’ll be required to put my writing in front of other people. See what sticks and what doesn’t.
It will help me build a habit out of writing. When I wanted to lose weight, what kept me accountable was posting about it to social media. Hmm, maybe I should start taking writing selfies rather than sweaty selfies…if I do, you’ll be the first to know!
It gives me flexibility of genre, too. The book I’m writing is the kind I love to read — fantasy fiction. Magic, action, suspense, some romance, and a touch of devastation. Oh, and of course, characters you want to talk to people about. Obsessively.
But I’ve found that the words flow more easily when I’m writing nonfiction.
I’ll use this blog to give you a look at my process. Some days, I might write about my day job, if I’m so moved. Others, I might give you advice that’s been helping me.
I’m totally into all things witchy right now — I burn sage in my house regularly, I carry crystals around in undisclosed locations, I have a Spellwork tincture, I’ve studied my cycle, and I’ve manifested my share of magic. On any given night, you’re likely to find me wandering in my back yard for a view of the moon.
I’ll throw in some book excerpts, sketches I make to help me visualize…pretty much anything related to my life as a writer will end up here.
From this blog, I would love to connect with other writers. I’ve had the pleasure of taking a writing class for teachers before (The Upstate Writing Project), and writing in a group is its own sort of magic. I wanna be a writing witch, and share that magic with other aspiring writers. Form my own Writing Coven, of sorts.
This time next year, I hope to have a draft of my fantasy young-adult book completed. When it comes time to look for an agent, I’ll include you in that, too.
Blessed Be.
The Writing Witch 