My Favorite Things About Being an Author

Hello and happy Wednesday!

It’s been a while since I’ve shared a purely writer-focused post, but I’ve been doing writing-related things a lot lately. From plotting a new novel (to be published before too long!), to editing Gills, to developing a consistent posting schedule on my socials, and more. My brain has been in deep writer mode.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any official announcements (yet…), but I still wanted to take some time and focus on some elements of the writing life that I absolutely love. I’m not a full-time author. I don’t write every day. I don’t make much income from it yet, and my habits are a mess. But I’m still an author, and I’m so grateful for everything that I get to do right now.

Writing is hard. Publishing is hard. Being consistently online marketing is hard. And sometimes I can get far too sucked into how hard it all is and forget how awesome it is to be an author. And it is awesome! I love it.

So today, I wanted to take some time and share some of my very favorite things about being an author!

Writing Dialogue

Right off of the bat, let’s start with the writing process. One of my favorite parts of writing drafts is writing dialogue! I have always loved writing dialogue, and I imagine I always will. It’s still on my bucket list to one day write an entire novel with only dialogue, I enjoy it that much.

What a character says reveals so much about them, so it’s helpful and a lot of fun to get inside their heads like that. Writing banters, confessions, compliments, arguments, monologues…I’m never more excited about writing scenes than when they’re packed full of good, meaningful dialogue. And chances are, I’m acting the lines out as I write, just to make sure they feel realistic. It makes my inner actor happy.

Getting to Know My Characters

Speaking of characters, let’s take it back a step. Starting with the initial process of plotting and outlining my story idea and carrying all of the way through the writing process, I love getting to know my characters. I’m a very character-focused reader and writer, so characters are very important to me – above plot, prose, or worldbuilding. If the characters are relatable, inspirational, and well-written, chances are much higher of me enjoying a story. That applies to my own books too!

Writing characters feels like getting to know real-life friends, they can feel so alive. And I enjoy finding out all about them, from their backstories to their relationships to their fears and goals and motivations. By the time I’m done writing a story, I know the characters in and out, and I love that feeling. And I’ve noticed that I tend to learn right along with my characters. As they learn life lessons and explore hard truths, they’re typically ones that I’ve been wrestling with, and writing them gives me space to grow too.

Experiencing Other Stories and Worlds

Right along with that, I love experiencing all of the different stories and worlds in the books that I write. As they say, through books, you can live a thousand lives. That applies to reading books, obviously, but also to writing them. When I write a story, I’m diving into that world, and investing in all of its many aspects and elements. I’m journeying right along with the characters through that world, learning lessons right along with them, and feeling emotions as they do.

It’s amazing. One month I can be in ancient Egypt, and the next off in a fantasy world. I could be searching for buried treasure one day, and matchmaking friends the next. The limits are endless. Especially during times when real life is full of stress, venturing into a fictional world is a welcome escape and chance to work out my thoughts in a safe environment. And because I’m writing the story, I know it intimately – even better than when reading another author’s book (though that’s good too!).

Meeting Other Authors

As we mentioned other authors, that’s another wonderful part of being an author! I love meeting other storytellers. I talked about this on my socials recently, but I really don’t ever view other authors as competition. The world is big enough and readers’ appetites large and diverse enough that there are always going to be enough readers to go around. Readers are always looking for more good stories. We as fellow authors are on the same team!

And even though I tend to be introverted and awkward, meeting other authors really is a huge joy to me. I love learning from fellow authors, brainstorming together, fangirling over our characters and worlds, supporting one another and being encouraging when the other is struggling, and just getting to know another person that enjoys the storytelling process as much as I do. You really can’t go wrong with meeting people that share many of the same values, dreams, goals, and loves as you do!

Constantly Learning

Though for me it’s been mostly indie-focused, this applies to writing and publishing of any kind! Being an author means constantly learning and growing. Researching my story material, learning about the art of stories, how to craft good stories, how to write realistic characters and clear prose, how to self-edit, how to search out professionals to fill in where we fall short, how to publish and all of the many, many details that involves…there’s never a shortage of material to learn!

And I love it. While it can of course be overwhelming, I enjoy the process of learning new things, and being an author certainly gives me opportunity to do that. I’m also a lover of history and geography so story research is just a welcome excuse to go on all kinds of random tangents. And it’s extremely rewarding when I finally learn how to do something well after working on it for a long time. It’s just another aspect of being an author that I didn’t know whether I’d love, and I absolutely do.

Good Reviews

Of course, I have to throw this in here…how could I not? Ask any author, and we’ll all tell you that one of the best parts of sharing our works are good reviews. Of course that applies to published authors, but it also applies to authors that haven’t published yet, and have instead shared their writing with family or friends. Receiving good feedback makes us feel on top of the world! I never feel more motivated to keep writing than when I’m told that someone enjoys my stories.

And along with good reviews, just meeting readers that love our genre, stories, and characters is pure joy. I’ve met some of my sweetest and dearest friends simply because they have taken the time to read and eagerly support my writing. Every time I hear from someone who messages me with thoughts about one of my books, screams about one of my villains, gushes about a love interest, or threats because of a cliffhanger, it makes my day. I’m so thankful for each and every person I’ve met through my writing.

I could honestly go on and on and on…there’s just so much that I love about being an author. And every time that I’m struggling, or having a rough day, or aren’t sure whether it’s really for me, all I need to do is remind myself of a few of these things, and I’m encouraged again. Obviously it isn’t for everyone, and it’s hard work, but I think that when writing is your thing, you find out pretty quickly after giving it a try.

Fellow authors, what are your favorite parts of the process? Have your favorites changed over time? I’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below! (Bonus points if you also share a little bit about yourself and your writing, and where we might connect with you!)

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