By

Michele L. Tune

Rebecca Laffar-Smith just shared her long road to writing with us. Since I read her story, I’ve been reflecting on my own. I’ve mentioned before I need to stop pulling the reins on myself so I can go to the next level in my freelance writing business. So, why do I feel I’m still holding myself back? Why do I feel I could have already acccomplished so much more? Am I just too hard on myself? Do I expect too much of myself? Or, am I truly – without even realizing it – allowing my past to keep me from stepping into a future I desire with all my heart? Am I locking myself out of my own future?

Just as Rebecca shared that she drifted to and away from her writing dreams, my own writing has drifted to and fro throughout the years. I’ve always been a writer – even if I was just jotting down what happened on any given day in my journal, or pouring my heart onto a loose piece of paper in the form of poetry. I’m a writer. It’s who I’ve been since I was a little girl; it’s who I’ll always be.

Maybe you’re feeling the same way I am. Maybe, just maybe, you even feel like I’ve written this very post just for you. And, you might be right. (I’m a firm believer that stuff always happens for a reason.) I’m inspired to write this post, to share my heart, my fears, my struggles with you because I want anyone who comes to read this blog to know they aren’t alone.

Some things I’ve struggled with as a freelance writer and blogger are:

• maintaining a lot of confidence
• selling my writing and blogging services
• overcoming my hermit tendencies
• finding the courage to approach the publications/people that intimidate me
• overwhelming myself with too many resolutions

You might find it odd that I feel this way - or that I’d spill the beans about it for a gazillion eyes to read. I have wondered why I feel this way as I contemplate my future with words. My conclusion? It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be to move forward in life after escaping domestic violence. Bruises from the physical abuse fade in no time, but the bruises from the verbal abuse are etched deep in the heart, mind, and soul of the victim.

Off the topic of writing:

If you’re prone to saying things you don’t mean in the heat of the moment, find a way to change yourself. Your hurtful words can’t be erased. They’ll stick with that person forever. Think about that.

So, what am I doing to stop reflecting on the past so my writing can take me where I want to go?

Here’s a few things I’ve been doing:

• take risks like hitting send for a query to that high-paying market
• polishing my queries so they portray me in a positive light
• trying to find ways to come out of my hermit shell
• focusing on short-term goals (you’ll notice I didn’t share a resolutions post this year)
• unlocking the door to my destiny

I’m not sure where this writing road will take me. What I do know is that the journey will only be all it was meant to be if I’m forging ahead in confidence, and not glancing over my shoulder allowing my past to direct my footsteps…

At the end of Rebecca’s guest post, she asked us what our long road to writing was. Today I’d love to know where your writing road is going to take you. Will you travel it with your eyes on the future? Have you already been doing that? Or, like me, have you struggled with your past tugging at you all along the way? Share your writing journey in the comments!

Be sure to subscribe to Writing the Cyber Highway’s Feed or by email, so you won’t miss upcoming posts and updates. Look for news from my own writing life, as well as interviews with amazing and inspiring folks. I’ll even be sharing the links to my mom’s new website and blog!

Photo Credit:http://www.sxc.hu

The following post is brought to us by the talented Rebecca Laffar-Smith, from Writer’s Round About. I’m quite honored to have her make a guest appearance on the cyber highway! I’ve followed Rebecca’s writings and freelance life since she started her blog on Blogger. She’s since moved it to its current self-hosted WordPress home with a fantabulous new design. Her posts only get better, her words more inspiring. I’m sure you’ll relate to her writing journey she’s sharing with us today, so give her a big ole welcome and don’t be shy!

Rebecca’s Long Road to Writing

By

Rebecca Laffar-Smith

Writing began as a dream when I was very young. I remember writing a story when I was six, and I knew that I was destined to do this, forever. When the other kids were wishing to be firemen, I was a writer. They grew to want to be doctors, or lawyers, but I was a writer.

I was a writer through grade school. I was a writer through high school. In fact, I was so much a writer I didn’t think I needed school at all.

In ninth grade I shared my latest and greatest story with my English teacher. She took the story but I never heard her feedback in regards to it. What I did hear, loud and clear, was the big fat F on my report card a short time later. English had been my favorite subject. I was committed, dedicated, and worked hard to absorb all I could.

When I failed English that year I felt shattered. I questioned my dream. I wondered if I were fooling myself. Was I a writer? I couldn’t even pass high school English. How could I expect myself to build a career with language.

Even failing that class couldn’t stop me from putting words on the page. I wrote onward, dropped out of school, lost my interest in education and turned my back on the world. Words were my hermitage and eventually, words were my salvation.

Years later, having written in a closet for a handful of years I came into the online world. I’d no longer been chasing the dream of a career in writing. I’d slipped into motherhood, a wife, a friend. The passion for language never faded and as I grew online the words sprung forth. Creation sprung forth and my chase began again in earnest.

It’s been a hard road already. Every writer faces the bumps along their route. We each come to the page with our own fears and judgment. We each bring our past before our eyes when we write. We push away the doubting ‘others’, all those who thought us foolish, failed us without giving us a chance, or laughed at our attempts.

As writers we push onward because the words never fade. They’ll sit in the background while you ignore them but they’ll be there, waiting for you to take up your pen or take to the keyboard.

What was your long road to writing?

Rebecca Laffar-Smith is a freelance writer, editor, and web tech. Her blog, The Writer’s Round-About discusses various aspects of online freelance business. Subscribe to The Writer’s Round-About via RSS or email!

Photo Credit: http://www.everystockphoto.com

Following is a guest post from none other than Devon Ellington! She’s very successful and has a solid writing career. I know you’ll be inspired by her post and her success. Be sure to visit her blog, too. She tells it like it is and shares her real writing experiences. Can’t beat that!

NOTE: I’m working on upcoming posts and will focus on keeping fresh content coming (regularly). I have lots of news to share with you! Oh, and don’t forget to subscribe so you won’t miss any of my juicy updates. See that feed dolly over there? She was a gift from one of my readers! Ain’t she pretty? (More about her early next week!)

Without further ado, here’s Devon Ellington…

Don’t Lose the Joy!

By Devon Ellington

Writers who take the first steps on this path are always looking for the magic “something” that will make them published, well-sold, and well-received.  Writing full-time isn’t for cowards.  One needs an incredible amount of grit, stamina, and determination, in addition to all the creative and business aspects required to make this your business and your vocation as well as your passion.  There’s no one trick, no one magic anything, and everyone’s path is slightly different.

The caveats, however, include:

• Sit your butt in the chair and write. No excuses.  It doesn’t matter if you’re tired or your family interrupts you or you “don’t wanna”.  Write.

• Write every day or almost every day. Writing is like training for a marathon.  You build up stamina, you get into the flow, it gets easier if you do it every day.

• There will never “be” time. You have to “make” time.

• Writer’s block is a luxury only those who rely on another source of income can afford.

• Every project will cause you, at some point to ask yourself, “How badly do I want this?” Because every project will require you to say no to something else, whether it’s in your professional life or your personal life.  No one else can make that recurring decision.  Only you can.

Something that we often forget as we crack the whip on those who claim to want to join us on the writing path, or as we moan to each other about difficult clients or late-paying clients or whatever,  is Joy.  With the capital “J”.

Most of us got into this profession because we love to write. We love to feel pen moving across paper, or watch the words march across the screen.  We tell stories.  Even when we write for a business client, we’re creating a story to present the client’s product in the best and most fascinating light.  We bear witness, we seek justice, we figure out what makes human beings tick.  We’re fascinated by the world and by everyone and everything in it.

It’s hard to remember that on the days when you’re juggling multiple projects, Microsoft fails yet again, the toilet backs up, the cat pukes all over that brand new silk cocktail dress you planned to wear tonight, a client is six weeks late with payment, and all your own bills now carry late fees.

Yet, when things are at their worst, take a moment to remind yourself why you’re doing this.  What part of this process, even on the bad days, give you joy?

The worst days are the days it’s the most important to pull out your personal handwritten journal, or shoot off an email to vent to a friend, or kidnap your neighbor next door for an impromptu glass of wine in the middle of the afternoon.

One of the reasons we freelance is so we don’t get caught up in a typical nine-to-five lifestyle. I’m very disturbed at the number of people who’ve left the corporate grind for more freedom only to build a similar prison of their own design.

And another reason we freelance as writers is because we love what we do. So don’t forget the Joy.  And on the days when you feel like it’s buried at the bottom of the cat box, take the time to dig it back out.

You’ll be glad you did.

Devon Ellington publishes under a half a dozen names in both fiction and non-fiction, as well as supplying her business clients with outstanding writing.  She writes the Jain Lazarus Adventures, published by FireDrakes Weyr Publishing, and “The Literary Athlete” column for THE SCRUFFY DOG REVIEW.  Visit her writing blog, Ink in My Coffee:  http://devonellington.wordpress.com