I am participating in the Writing Contest: You Are Enough, hosted by Positive Writer. You may also enter the contest- http://positivewriter.com/writing-contest-your-calling-your-story/

“When did you know writing was your calling?” I get the question, or some form of it, often.

Honestly, I’m not completely convinced that writing is my calling, but I know there are stories in my head and I plan to keep writing until they are no longer there.

In high school, I was the editor of our school paper. I wrote information pieces. I wrote editorial pieces. I wrote facts and details. When I found myself in a creative writing class during my senior year and the assignment was to write something creative about a picture of myself as a child, I was lost. I’m grateful that my teacher didn’t just tell me I wasn’t a creative writer. He took the time to guide me through that assignment until I finally had a piece that could be considered creative.

Then I went to college, started teaching, got married, and had children. My love of reading was put on the back burner. Any writing I did was only in the context of the classroom. Seventeen long years passed between that creative writing class and the Christmas of 2012 when I received a Kindle.

I was floored with the number of “indie authors” I discovered to read on my Kindle. As I devoured their stories and continually searched for more, a small seed of “I could do this” took root in my head. A story had been building in my head and this was the opportunity to prove to myself I could write more than a newspaper story, more than a brief creative writing piece. I challenged myself to write and publish an entire book.

Was it easy? Hell, no. Was it an overnight sensation? Also, no. But I successfully completed and published a book. A secondary character demanded a story of her own. So, I wrote and published a second book. Readers loved the stories and asked for more. I completed my first series with four books. From that point on, I realized the stories in my imagination weren’t going to be silenced. I promised I’d continue writing until the stories weren’t rattling around in my head or until I was no longer having fun writing and publishing.

Since book number one until present day, I have written and published (both self-pubbed and through a publisher) twenty-five full-length novels, novellas, and a short story with four books currently at some point of being written and/or published.

Do I keep writing because it pays the bills? For me, it does not.

Do I keep writing because I have contracts to fulfill? No one is knocking down my door to publish my books at this point in time.

I keep writing because my characters are very real to me and their stories need to be told. I keep writing because people I know and love have gone, and will go, through life experiences and I want to give them a happier ending to some of those stories. I keep writing because even if I only reach one reader who is touched by a story, it’s worth it. 

I’m not completely confident in my writing. I do know that today’s writing is a lot better than my 2014 debut release. I doubt my words and stories every single time I sit down to pour myself onto paper. I doubt my words and stories every time I send them off for editing or a beta read or an advanced read. I doubt my words and stories every time I hit publish. But I keep writing because readers tell me they enjoy my stories. I keep writing because I have a group of author friends and reader friends who encourage me. I keep writing because story ideas hit me at random times and random places and I just have to tell the character’s story. I keep writing because it’s something I’ve grown to love.

Did I think I was destined to be a writer when I was younger? No. I wasn’t constantly writing stories as a child. Reading? Yes. But I didn’t grow up penning stories.

Did I dream of being a writer? No. My love of writing grew from my passion for reading and a challenge I gave myself. It has continued because there are still stories in my head and I enjoy what I’m doing.

There is nothing better than hearing from a reader that a character or story touched them, made them smile, made them cry, reminded them of themselves, or gave them hope. As long as readers are entertained by my stories and my head keeps thinking up the words, I will keep at it because it has slowly and surely become a passion.