Passion

When I finished the rough draft of my science fiction story, I decided to put the story away for awhile and try something else. My something else didn’t make it very far, and I got caught up in college. After about a year, I picked up the story again to polish the first three chapters for my grad school application. About a year or two later, I was finally accepted to graduate school! And then—I realized that I hadn’t written anything (except for polishing those first three chapters) in three years. I’d had writer’s block for longer than some of my classmates have been writing!

I thought that I would work on something completely different while in grad school—ignore my other story completely and go back to it when I have the tools to write it well. The only problem is that I can’t seem to write anything else. Ideas don’t jump out of the woodworks the way they used to. I have to struggle to come up with ideas. I’ve tried starting a couple of stories, but I just can’t get into them. They seem flat, and I have to force myself to keep writing. What happened to my passion? What happened to the days when I just wrote and wrote and wrote and couldn’t wait to wake up the next morning so that I could write some more?

My second packet is due in about two weeks, and I haven’t written anything. I’m supposed to write a short story focusing on character development. I’ve written only about one or two short stories in my life, and they were terrible. I don’t know how to write a short story. And I’m not any good at character development. So where do I start? I have been trying, but nothing’s come. So far, all my graduate school work has been absolutely miserable. I hope I can get into the grove soon.

An Open Gate

A friend once told me, “There will always be an open gate for you.” I have found that gate. I have just begun an intensive two-year program. By the end of these two years, I will have learned how to craft a story that children, young adults, and adults will want to read. This is not what I hope to accomplish. I will accomplish this. That is my promise to myself. Many nights, I will stay up late writing stories and essays. Many days, I will read and read and read. Nothing good ever comes without hard work. Hard work builds character. And from my hard work, I will learn how to build characters.

I am very excited. I have never taken a class or a workshop on creative writing. I have never belonged to a critique group. Everything I know about story comes from what I’ve figured out on my own, and what I’ve learned in the past five years from about half a dozen craft books. I have much to learn.

I hope that you will join me on my journey. Passing through the gate is only the beginning. I have a long road to travel. But like a heroine on a quest, I will meet friends and companions to help me face the obstacles ahead. Together, we can defeat the villains of empty plot, one-dimensional characters, and confusing language. And in the end, may we, together, pass through the glass to the amazing world that lies beyond.