A World of Support

I have always been incredibly fortunate when it has come to friends, family, and significant others and my writing. I have never once run into someone who said I couldn’t do it.

I’m not sure my family, my Mom especially, ever really understood my drive to write, but they’ve always encouraged me. We’re a family of storytellers anyway, so that part I know they understand. I just choose a different medium. A medium most dyslexics shy away from.

I’m pretty sure my extended family, as well as my close friends, think it’s really neat that I write. They always ask to read my work when I tell them I’ve been writing. Someday I might actually even share it with them!

Even my co-workers are supportive. They often tell me I am insane for trying to write 50,000 words in one month, but they always ask how it’s going, and encourage me to keep at it when I’m feeling grim.

When I was published for the first time, I had dozens of people tell me they had bought my book and were excited to read it.  It never ceases to amaze me, the outpouring of support from people I didn’t even know still followed me on Facebook.

These people right here are the Cafe are my biggest supporters. My peers. My friends. My writing family.  They push me when I slack. They encourage me when my confidence flags. They cheer me on when I succeed. They comfort me when I’m down. They all make me a better writer.

I’ve even been very lucky with my significant others. My very first serious boyfriend was a writer, as well. It was part of what drew us together. Back in 2004, he had his friend tell me all about this crazy contest where these people try to write 50,000 words in November. Without him I might never have discovered the miracle of National Novel Writing Month.

And now, my current significant other is my rock. My partner in every sense of the word. We fell in love over critiquing each other’s novels. We write together. He encourages me to submit my work, but softly so I don’t feel pressured. We give each other honest feedback on our stories. I feel so lucky to have found him. Sometimes I feel like our love story is a novel.

Ever since my 8th grade English teacher told me that I would be published someday soon, I have had nothing but support from my friends, family, partners, and co-workers.

I refuse to acknowledge the negative feedback from my old undergraduate fiction writing courses and all of the MFA program rejections. My writing doesn’t seem to be suitable for academic environments. But as my massive support network always reminds me: a majority of the most successful, best-selling authors out there don’t have creative writing degrees.

I don’t need one either. Especially with the world of support I have from the people around me.

Thank you, everyone. I would not be on this path without all of you. Thanks for being supportive and encouraging, even if what I do completely mystifies you even still.