In the Space Between Heavens

I'm about to head off to a peer-run novel workshop called Blue Heaven. I went back in 2008, when I brought the incredibly clumsy first draft of ABOVE WORLD. Three years later, and I'm bringing the (hopefully less clumsy) first draft of ABOVE WORLD, Book 2.

Things have changed a lot in the last three years. After I attended BH in 2008, I didn't write for 8 months. I remember being completely consumed by my dayjob at the animation studio. That was my life, and writing was something I squeezed into the interstices. It was over a year before I finally revised the book and started querying agents.

Now, writing is my focus. I work at a part-time job and have a regular freelance gig to pay my bills. These jobs aren't careers; they have no future. But they leave me with enough energy — and the right kind of energy — to pursue my real passion. After over a decade of writing, I finally consider myself a writer, first and foremost.

In 2008, Blue Heaven gave me the deadline I needed to finish my book. But more important, it introduced me to some amazing writers and incredible people. It reminded me how hard-working my peers are, and how much I want this life for myself.

I wonder what this year's BH will do.