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Guest Post by the Author
“Why Do I Write?”
Why do we choose to do anything? What is it that drives us to take action? Obviously, we do the things we need to do in order to survive. We get jobs, make money, buy shelter, food and clothing to provide for ourselves and our loved ones, but what about outside of our basic needs? What happens once those needs are met? The next logical choice would be to have some fun. Life is not all about surviving, it’s also about what we do to fulfill ourselves. What brings us joy and happiness? Next to survival, this is key.
Learning new skills, traveling to new places, following a creative endeavor, meeting new people, facing new challenges and socializing with friends and family are all part of this path. For me, writing helps satisfy many of these things. I think anytime you follow your bliss, you will find a whole new world opening up to you. That’s part of the excitement. The journey you take and what you learn along the way are key as you open up to new opportunities.
I started writing in 2012 after many years of dabbling with it. I’d started and stopped many times, but never considered my work “worthy” enough and would put it in a drawer away from view. But for some reason, when I got an idea to create a storyline around an extraterrestrial community that lived on earth, it stuck. I wrote my first book in eight months, the second in five months, and the third in two. The words were pouring out of me and it was so much fun. I loved my new found community of characters and I loved writing about them. I didn’t think about editing, publishing and marketing. I just wrote. And what’s funny? I didn’t tell anyone. I wrote the entire first book and nobody knew.
Part of me liked that no one knew because it allowed me to write without having to deal with outside questions, curiosities and opinions. I could write without worrying about what anyone thought. But once the book was done, I had to face that final challenge of showing it to someone else. And that meant subjecting myself to potential criticism. The self-doubt can be crippling. I’d just written ninety thousand words I’d poured my heart and soul into. What if it was crap?
But that’s the thing about following your bliss. You have to follow wherever it leads. And that usually means sharing your gifts with the world. If I was really going to do this, then I needed to take the leap. I needed to know if I’d accomplished what I really wanted – write a good story that kept a reader engaged from cover to cover and left them wanting more.
Fast forward to now and I’m five books in with a sixth on the way, so you can guess how my initial feedback went on that first book. It was positive. Don’t get me wrong. I had to do a lot of editing and I learned a lot from that initial endeavor, and I’ve learned a lot since. I’ve also delved into the world of self-publishing, marketing and self-promotion. It’s not easy. In fact, it’s been the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but also the most rewarding because I love it. And that’s why I do it. It has nothing to do with providing for myself, because it doesn’t pay the bills (well, maybe one or two), but it satisfies the most basic need in all of us – fulfillment. It fills that creative hole and it allows me to bring delight to those readers who enjoy my work. There’s nothing better than getting the “I couldn’t put it down” review.
So that’s why I write. It fills my soul. Have you found something that fills yours? Comment below and let me know.
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About the Author
Born and raised in Dallas, TX, J. T. Bishop began writing in 2012. Inspired by a video that theorized the meaning of the end of the Mayan calendar, J. T. began the Red-Line trilogy. The video surmised that the earth was the central hub of activity for extraterrestrials thousands of years ago. J.T. didn’t know whether that was true or not, but it did spawn an idea. What if those extraterrestrials were still here? Two years and a lot of work later, the first three Red-Line books were complete, but she’s not done. The Red-Line saga develops as she continues to write new books.
Website URL: https://jtbishopauthor.com/
Facebook URL: https://www.facebook.com/jtbishopauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jtbishopauthor
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judybishop99?trk=hp-identity-name
Buy link for High Child
Buy link for Curse Breaker
