Okay, so here it goes, my very first blog. First off, I just want to introduce myself by saying this: My name is Afton Wooters and I am a writer, a mother, a wife, and a lover of Chocolate. My love of writing stems from my father, who told me Lord of the Rings and Narnia bedtime stories when I was young, and from my love of books (mostly sci-fi/fantasy, fiction, and young adult, but I’ll read almost anything if it feels right.) I come from a big family; I have two younger brothers and two younger sisters. Right now my life consists mainly of dirty diapers, excursions to the dog park, coffee and podcasts (for my sanity’s sake!) and of course, writing.
A little about my writing: I am new to novel writing. I have written many short story’s, one of which was published in a community college literary magazine. I am currently working on a full-length sci-fi/fantasy book of which I have about 40 pages of my first draft complete. This is a very daunting task for me, but like the title of this post suggests, I will see it through thick and thin just like this blog.
About this blog: Like you, I have my good writing days and bad. I get writers block, have days where I’m way too hard on myself, weeks where my frustration is so great it’s hard not to smash my keyboard against the wall, and on occasion I get thrust into a downward spiral of negativity and fear from which I feel I will never recover. Maybe you deal with similar feelings and experiences frequently, maybe you’ve made peace with all your writing demons, but I think it’s safe to say that most of us have gone through slumps in our writing careers at one point or another and these are only a few of the pitfalls of being a writer. It’s a constant emotional battle, especially if you have little or no support, but I believe that together we can all become stronger and more confident in our work.
This blog primarily exists to bring you daily motivation to read and write and give you that extra support you need from writers just like you. I know I need it! Examples of what you could find on my blog from day to day include: author interview’s, writing and reading related topics and articles, brainstorming topics, writing challenges, quotes, trivia questions, my own thoughts and opinions, discussion related to problems I encounter in my own work and beyond. I will also be writing one book review a month on a new (or newish) release that I will have available on here on the first of every month. I will let you know tomorrow what I have selected to read and review for the month of June. Starting in July, I will be selecting five books that you will vote on. The one with the most votes is the book I will read. The genre’s could range anywhere from horror, sci-f, fantasy, fiction, and young adult. As time goes by I’m sure the reviews will become more frequent, but for now this seems like a reasonable goal. If you believe there is a better way to go about the book selection process please let me in on your thoughts! Also, my chocolate loving will definitely leach into my blog so expect some tastly treats here and there!
Just a couple more things I want to add to set the tone. Firstly, know that there is no right way to write. Rules are made to be broken, especially when it comes to writing. If a cliche works for you and your story then use it. If everything you read about adding a prologue suggests that you shouldn’t but it works for you, then write a prologue. You get the jist. What it comes down to is this: It’s your story. Write what you want the way you want. Only you know your story and what’s best for it.
Also, the best thing you can do to improve your writing is by, you guessed it, writing. A lot. Everyday. We all have busy lives so don’t beat yourself up if you just can’t do it, but keep in mind that even if you write just a little each week it’s better than nothing and will still improve your writing. Remember to keep your writing goals realistic, but challenge yourself too. Your motivation and support will be here for you when you need it. Please feel free to send me suggestions on discussion topics, possible book review choices, things you would like to see on my blog site, etc… Any comments would be much appreciated.
No Write Way 