Starting From Scratch - RJ Scott's Anniversary Blog Hop

I'm participating in RJ Scott's blog hop, celebrating her two year anniversary of writing m/m. :)

So, I've titled my post Starting From Scratch...

Because that's what I did.

I started from scratch.

It's no surprise I wrote fanfiction prior to original fiction, and I've found a LOT of other authors did too, once upon a time, in a range of different fandoms. 

For me, it was how I learned and grew as a writer. I started out writing m/f and then found m/m (slash) and never looked back.  But in starting to write original fiction and having my first works published this year, I have realized something...

I didn't know the first thing about writing.

So I wrote some cute fanfiction stories about some cute boys, and people liked them. I had some great reviews, great feedback and, all in all, it was a very positive and fun experience. 

So, armed with two years of said experience in writing fanfiction, and a somewhat delusional opinion that I knew what I was doing, I took a leap of faith and decided to write original m/m for publication. 

And boy, what a steep learning curve it's been.

The truth is, my fanfiction writing experience counted for very little in writing original fiction. Essentially, I was starting from scratch.   Sure, I knew the mechanics of story writing, I knew the importance of plot and structure and character development, but I've really been amazed at just how very little I know about writing.

And that's a really, really good thing.

I figure the day I stop learning about writing, and how to be a better writer, is the day I should give it away. 

I wouldn't change my fanfiction history even if I could. I loved every minute of it, and it in itself was a learning process. I like to think of it as a stepping stone on my path to further my writing. I learned a lot from fanfiction, but I've learned, and continue to learn, in as little as six months, a billion times more from writing original fiction than I could have imagined.  

The editing process, in particular, has been mind-blowing. You know the saying It takes a village?  Yeah well, it does. And then some.

From a draft version, to the release of the ebook, a story (with Silver, in particular) is edited, edited again, and again, and again. I learned to take every comment positively, because with every correction, suggestion and adaption, the story gets stronger. 

I'm learning to look for what the editor/s sees, what the reader sees, and how to improve as I write. Though I don't assume to master this process any time soon. (Disclaimer: The teeny, tiny and equally devastating comma will be the bane of my existence FOREVER.) lol

So that being said, I have four manuscripts being released this year so far. My first release, Taxes and TARDIS, while released first, was not my first submission.  The first original fiction I wrote and submitted was in fact Point of No Return, which is scheduled for release on August 18th  - just one week away!

I also have my third ebook scheduled for release in October, and then my fourth in November.  Needless to say, it's been a busy six months. But I've loved it, and can safely say I've found a home at Silver Publishing.  Their networks are fantastic, they're helpful, friendly and professional, and the cover-art is the best there is. 

I'm still very much a newbie to writing original fiction, and I presume I will be for quite some time. And to anyone who wants to try their hand at writing, my suggestion is this: Never stop writing, and most importantly, never stop learning. 

Now for the fun part...

POINT OF NO RETURN GIVE-AWAY

To celebrate the release of my new novel, and the opportunity RJ Scott has given me, I'd like to offer Point of No Return in ebook format as a promotional give-away to one lucky reader! All you need to do is leave a comment to this post on my blog, and a winner will be randomly chosen on Sunday, 12 August 2012 and you'll be sent Point of No Return, on the release day, being 18th August 2012!

 It's that simple!!  

Now for the blog hopping!!   A link to RJ Scott's blog is   HERE.  Please check out all the other blog hops from other awesome authors!!