The Secret Life of A Writer by Francesca Quarto
It isn't Magic, though I do lots of Magic in my books. After all, my series' heroine, or main character if you prefer, is a Celtic Wizard! Instead of waving a wand over a computer, writing a book, or poem, or short story, well, even a letter, an occurrence as rare as the fountain pen, takes an act of focused dedication to the task. "What is that?" you may well ask yourself, if you are prone to private conversation when no one is around.
People are dedicated in all sorts of ways, actually. There are religious dedications, marriage dedications and of course the commitment to serve the sick and ill by doctor, nurse or care-giver. All of these personal promises must be kept by the servant. I use that word carefully, because none of us gladly accepts the role of servant. Yet, I believe we all serve others everyday we draw breath. Small acts of kindness, a caring moment spared to listen, and countless small services we render in the name of human compassion.
But I digress so back to how a writer serves her readers.
It's a combination in equal measure, of self-belief and self-doubt. In the first instance, every writer I've ever met enjoys the process of writing a narrative and fleshing out characters that capture the reader up in the story. They seem to thrive on a rich stew of words and imagination. They also have an abiding belief their ability to spin a tale and bring others into the worlds they create.
The good writer will work and rework a book, questioning herself about the threads left hanging like cobwebs in her mind. Until it is whittled down to all the necessary properties for good storytelling, the writer will relentlessly rip and tear into the manuscript, paring away even the most clever turn of phrase. Warning: This process can be very damaging to the writer's ego, especially when the Editor of said work has been mucking about in the manuscript and found her less-than-stellar with punctuation!
The Author will slip into edit mode from time to time, especially as the story advances. And thank the gods for the delete key on the computer! This too can be seen as an exercise in Service to the reader. The final draft will be a statement of her commitment to produce the finest book for the enjoyment of perfect strangers. (Never use family as a gauge of great literary prowess!)
Like any professional, the writer has lots of competition in the world of books. Every year the market place is flooded with wonderful works, produced by fine Authors. Rather than bemoan not being the Prom Queen, enjoy the party! Look at other work as a fine opportunity to enhance your own writing skills by learning from the best. One word of caution here: Don't just read in the genre you write in, because you need to keep a broader view of the world than looking through a Druid Dictionary! You'll keep your vocabulary sharp and maybe even improve your grammatical usage so your Editor won't have to do all the heavy lifting.
To bring this little tutorial to a conclusion, let me add this thought.
My personal favorite part of being an Author is seeing the excitement of a fan who's just purchased another book in my "Witch of Appalachia" series. And what I did just now is called marketing your work. Think of it as another service to the reading public!