Ok. Well, here goes. My name is Amanda and this is my very first blog. I have no idea whether or not anyone will read it, but I need to record my thoughts and writing progress if I am to ever begin this journey or ever have any success. I have always wanted to write and for as long as I can remember, I have crafted stories in my head. When I was younger, it was often to alleviate boredom. These stories never made it to paper and were heavily influenced by my reading material. I loved Sweet Valley Twins! By middle school, I was writing stories based on the young lives of my circle of friends. Every once in a while I come accross one of these stories and laugh at my innocence and belief in my "skills" as a writer. For the past few years my dream of becoming a writer has become somewhat more real, but continues to live halfway in the realm of unreality. Too many years of viewing writers as idols and untouchable has colored my view of the posibilty of my actually writing a novel. What is it that creates this view of writers and writing? Is it the image of the tortured author, unaturally creative with limitless talent? Or is it the early reactions to the horrible poetry I wrote in high school? Whatever it is, it has influenced me to the extent that I blush when I tell people that I am an aspiring writer, as if they will see inside my head and say, "who is she kidding?" I no longer want to think that way. I want to believe in my dreams and that they can become reality. I start with this blog and with the few lines of text that will hopefully one day be part of my first novel.
Amanda
