I really do.
I used to write and finish stories all the time as a kid. Going into teenage and adult years, however, that all rolled to a stop. I could certainly start something - many things, in fact! But finishing them? Nay, verily.
Then came the year I took Creative Writing at Moorpark College with Professor Bradford. For the first time in years, I finished a story! I finished multiple creative-writing pieces! Unfortunately, when that semester came to an end so did my motivation to finish the writings I started.
Three years later, I hadn't finished a single thing - not a poem, picture book, short story, nothing...
And then it was the week before my husband's birthday. I decided to write a short little story for him. Since I had recently been getting back into adding drawings to my sketch book, I thought it would be fun to incorporate one of my favorites into the story.
The story became a picture book, which I illustrated myself with my very amateur skill. I didn't intend this to go to a grand audience - it was just a story for my husband's amusement.
The day before his birthday, I was still trying to finish it. It just didn't seem right somehow. The ending didn't have the feel I was going for. Normally, I would probably just give up and set it aside as a project for "some other time." But this story had to be ready by the next day! So I put in the effort to figure out how to make it flow better, feel better, and be an all-around satisfying story.
The thing about making gifts for someone you live with is... it's very difficult working on it while keeping it a secret. The night before his birthday, I was still scrawling out the last couple of drawings in my sketch-book, intermittently hugging the pad to my chest as my husband came in and out of the room.
The whole thing was uploaded to a single document and e-mailed to my husband that night, with clear instructions not to open the attachment until the next day.
I'm always very nervous about having people read for the first time something I've written. But I was relieved, and pleasantly surprised, to see how much he liked it!
Since then, I have had different family members tell me that it's a very good story, and some have even encouraged me to submit it for publication. While it's nice to hear expressions of confidence like that, I can't help but feel that it's a bit far-fetched to say that my stories are publication-worthy.
Nonetheless, since then I have looked into the publication process. It's much more complicated than I thought it would be... I guess I was under the impression that you just sort of submit it to whoever you want, they look at it, and then maybe a week or two later say yes or no to it. Apparently there are these things called editors and agents...
Not that I was that ignorant, but kind of.
And there's another thing called Paying People to Help You Publish Your Book Which May Not Even End Up Getting Published Anyway...
So that's where I am right now - wondering how far to pursue this before giving it up as a vain attempt and saying to myself "maybe I'll write something better sometime and submit it someday to someone somewhere."
One thing I do know: I am extremely unlikely to finish anything without a deadline.
