Love At First Write

Posted on by Felix Alexander

I have faltered where I should have succeeded, but I refuse to concede defeat despite my failures. I have lost myself in a wormhole of writing, allowing the stars to watch me with pity, and forge ahead to achieve my goals. I have written, re-written, revised, and revisited the worlds I’ve created to develop my craft, because writing is my passion and nothing has deterred me from my love.

To be fair, despite the potential that teachers saw in my skill as a youth I realize now that I was never really that good. It’s one thing to be born with a natural inclination to put-pen-to-pad, but it is another thing entirely when you dedicate the necessary hours, weeks, months, and even years to develop your talent into a viable skill.

This is what I’ve had to do, tirelessly, relentlessly, and passionately in order to reach the plateau on which I stand. After years of re-working, tweaking, and carving my epic historical fantasy novel into the work that it is now, I’m pleased with the response from readers who have offered helpful tidbits of input to polish off my manuscript. I’m pleased with their assessment of my product:

• Draws you in quickly, extremely engaging
• Felt the sense of urgency in the opening action sequences
• Kept me guessing, and curious about how the subplots are connected
• Surprise twist early-on gives me the impression I’m in for surprises
• It’s not slow or boring, doesn’t have any lull in the narrative

These are encouraging words to hear, because I have conducted extensive research into writing fiction over the past 11 years, and I have discovered that these are some of the goals a writer should work towards achieving. I am proud of my progress because it means that none of it has been in vain.

Suffice it to say that there remains work to be done. Arriving at this juncture feels wonderful, however, it doesn’t denote that I may ease off the proverbial gas pedal.

What I mean to say is: well, when I was a Freshman in high school, my algebra teacher pulled me aside to congratulate me for my efforts in maintaining high marks in her class. I vividly recall her saying, “I see the work that you’re putting in, and it is impressive, and I encourage you to keep at it because it takes consistency to achieve what you’ve achieved, and you mustn’t relent. On that same token, it takes no effort to slide down the slope of success, so stay focused, you’re a bright young man.”

That was nearly 25 years ago, yet those words have stayed with me for obvious reasons.

I may have failed at many things. I have disappointed people that have mattered to me, and even though they may not see it, I’m doing my best to reconcile my heart with my actions. I’m working to become the man I had always hoped to be and the man my children will always admire. The same way my siblings and I admire our dad.

A part of that process required me to discover who I am, for in doing so I’ve been able to evolve into the writer I was born to become, because writing is my passion….storytelling is my love.