To Become a Writer, one must be a Reader
Yesterday I began the process of writing my very first book. I set myself up at my computer desk after my daily routine was finished and just allowed myself to write the foreword, or introductory segment, of my upcoming high fantasy fable. I have yet to come up with a name for it, but as I wrote the first words in my own voice welcoming the reader to the book, I felt a sense of peace and ease as the words flowed off of my fingertips. In life, we become what we consistently think about most, and it is my desire to become an author of a book that inspires and motivates others to follow their dreams. To become an author however, it is imperative that the author reads the works of others first to expand their horizons, get ideas, and ultimately build their own writing style.
My writing style in this blog is very much a conversational tone. I speak what comes to mind and then put it to paper, and I find this to be a very easy read for most of my readers of this blog. I will similarly employ a bit of this tone as well as I create my fable, but I will also need to incorporate a much more descriptive style as I build the world in which the heroes and villains of my fable live. This is why I am selecting a very important reading list as I go about writing my first book. This reading list will include other high fantasy titles and some fables, and it is no small task to go through the multitude of books that these authors have written.
The following books (series) are on my reading list:
Redwall Series by Brian Jacques
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
The Princess and the Goblin and Phantastes by George MacDonald
This list includes some classic works as well as more contemporary literature that I would like to blend in my own writing. Many of these authors have written multiple books within the book series noted above, so reading them all will take some time. This however is exactly what I need in order to expand my vocabulary and develop my world building acumen. As I write my own fable, I will not necessarily be writing it as a series, but I will leave the opportunity open should it arise.
Last night as I continued reading the Hobbit, I began to imagine the world of J.R.R. Tolkien in such vivid detail. His ability to describe the landscapes that the dwarves and the Hobbit travel is one of the most beautiful things I have ever read. His ability to paint a picture in the mind of his readers is something that I appreciate, and I hope to incorporate even a fraction of his genius in my own writing. This appreciation is the type of feelings I want to cultivate every time I see something I like in the works of another. It will instill in me the positive feelings necessary to bring my own book into the physical reality.
My goal for this book is to be read by many; however, I would be happy if I am the only reader as well. This sounds counterintuitive, but for my first book, the act of discipline required to write a full fable is not a small feat. In accomplishing this feat of writing a book, I will be so proud of myself and will be able to call myself an author. This I believe to be true already. I am already filling my mind with the necessary knowledge to be an author before I actually am one. I am excited that I have taken this approach to my thinking, because as your thoughts consistently work towards a particular effort, there is no reason to stop them from bringing you exactly what you want through the law of attraction.
My book will incorporate the learnings of my many years of reading self-help books so that the fable portion of the book ultimately teaches the readers something special. The universe is indeed abundant, and if you put in the concerted effort to cultivate an awareness for how you feel at any given time, and choose to focus your attention towards the joy of life instead of the struggles you may be facing, you will find an unlimited well of possibility helping you to achieve the goals you once only dreamed of. This is the lesson I hope my book instills in its readers and helps them discover their own innate ability to create whatever it is they want in the world through focused thought.
While I did not stream my writing session last night, I did end up creating a small PowerPoint presentation helping me to organize my thoughts around writing my fable. This presentation also mentioned a routine for a writer, which included striving to hit a word count of 2,000 to 5,000 words per day in my writing efforts (not including the word count for this blog). By incorporating another habit into my routine, this will assist me in creating my book with steady progress along the way. Many prolific authors like the likes of Stephen King aim to hit a 2,000 per day word count, so I might as well do the same if the best writers of the day are doing it also. Even though much of my work will be edited down by myself or by a professional editor eventually, just putting the words to paper is enough of a start to build momentum for my skill in writing.
And so here I am after my first day of writing my fable. I went to bed somewhat early and find myself awake at the early hour of 4:22 a.m. as I write this. I woke up excited to start my day as I usually do when I begin something that I am anticipating being fun and a joy to do, and hence, I am already cultivating the persistent thoughts necessary to make this dream a reality. I am becoming an author in mind, and eventually, I will become an author in reality. Wishing you all a wonderful start to your days and I hope to see you soon live on stream.
Until next time,
Blackboa