Writing Journey: Where It All
Began…
Hi Friends,
To celebrate my fifty-fourth
birthday, I’m jumping into the deep end and share what I’ve been doing for the
last several months.
Have you ever felt that sense of relief that happens when you
realize you’re exactly where you were always meant to be? That’s how I feel and
it’s an incredible feeling. I, Nancy Crisp Weeks, am a WRITER! I have finished two
books in what I’m calling my Shadow series. After over 800 pages, 200,000
words, and two years, it hit me. I finally feel like I can call myself a
writer.
While stories have lived in my
head my whole life, I wondered if I had it in me to actually write one down. I
figured everyone had new worlds, fascinating people, heroes, heroines, and vicious
villains running through their minds at all hours. It’s one of those things we
all do, but since it’s so common, we don’t talk about it. I was shocked to
learn that most people keep to-do lists in their heads. And…they don’t sit in
hotel lobbies or restaurants and think this
would a great scene for a sniper attack, or a kidnapping.
So here’s a secret very few
people know about me. I have always
wanted to be a writer. I used to amble around the shelves, run my hand over
the book covers and think, I really…
really want to write one day.
I have a deep respect and
fascination for writers. But could I become one? In college, I freaked at the idea of a five thousand
word essay. A full length novel, the very thought was daunting.
But the dream never went away. It persisted, churning away in my subconscious for half my
life. Then one day three years ago, my world shifted… and I mean 9.1 earthquake
kind of shift. I wrote the first sentence for In the Shadow of Evil.
What caused this dramatic change
in my life? Well, that moment I can contribute to my sweet sister, Mary. She stopped
smoking. Cold turkey, no gums, no pills, just her strong will and
determination. I was so proud of her that I had to do something to honor her.
So, just before my fifty first birthday,
I began my first novel. I wrote everyday and for months, told no one except
Mary. Every few days, I would send her my horrid…and I really mean it when I
say horrid chapters of the first draft. And she would tell me how many hours she had
gone without a cigarette. Then she would start bugging me for more of the
story, complaining that I left her hanging.
At the one year anniversary mark,
we celebrated a smoke free year and a completed novel. There are some dreams
that won’t be ignored. Half the time, I wonder if I should have my head
examined. But every day, I can’t wait to dig back into the lives of my
characters, finish one more scene, one more chapter. And at three in the
morning, I’m plotting the next book and the book after that.
I have no idea where this road
will lead me, but I thank God every day that I’m on it. I hope you too will grab hold of that one thing you always want to do
and go for it. I can tell you from experience, it’s hard work, grueling, bang your head on the table frustrating,
but worth it.
If you have followed your dream or are still searching, please share it with me. Dreamers need to stick together, lend each other a helping hand.
Nancy C. Weeks
