First Steps

I remember the very first story I wrote, or at least the initial one ingrained in my memory. We had a computer and I was probably 7 or 8 years old. It was about a TV show I loved as a kid. Probably a page long, at the maximum. I wish I had kept it, but I distinctly remember deleting it years ago out of embarrassment, thinking "man, I wrote something awful when I was young."

There, I got it out of the way. My writing journey began with fanfiction. So did most of my later attempts to grow as a writer, to experiment with style, and to find myself in a position where I can begin to write original fiction. It's considered a dirty secret by some, but in hindsight I am not ashamed of where I began. 

Because, I remember. I remember being the twelve year old kid writing stories about what I knew for school projects. I remember being sixteen and venturing online with my stories for the first time, and being absolutely hammered by self-declared good writers who knew everything about the craft and nothing about nurturing potential creative minds. 


I remember what it's like to start at the beginning. That's why I've created this blog. The new journey I am undertaking -- one towards eventual publication -- only happened because at a point, I had guides. I was nurtured along the way. Some of it was writing advice, but a good majority of it was tips on how to be a writer. 

How to conquer writer's block. What to look for in edits, and in an editor. Writing challenges to get my mind thinking in different ways. How to find an audience. And most of all, the encouragement to write, write, write.

You will find all of those here. This blog will be chock full of things I have learned along the way, stories of things I am still learning, and encouragement to keep going. The wannabe-writer who never sets pen to paper has already lost. 

(So says the wise Robert Sawyer, 

whose website http://www.sfwriter.com/index.htm 

is a fine place to find writing tips 

and ideas for the newbie.)

So, join me on this quest. To finish off this first post, I leave you with a word taken from the meat of my novel-in-editing. It is dear to my heart and seemed an apt title for this blog*.

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conduit, n. - an agency or means of access, communication, etc.

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-- Janet

*Consider this blog your writing starting point, me your guide, and we will get along handsomely. I welcome and encourage participation from current and upcoming writers and anyone else who would like to help along our next creative generation. I am by far an expert on the topic, but I feel that sharing is a key element of learning, and that we all grow stronger through the process.