Beginning Writers: So you think you want to write?

(reprinted from the Greenhouse on The Wild Rose Press website) Beginning Writers: So you think you want to write?

by Delilah Devlin Do you empty your pockets and purse in front of the computer at night because you have bits of stories stashed everywhere? Do you daydream constantly about other places, other times…other men? When you're trying to fall asleep at night, do you suddenly jolt from the bed because your hero's voice utters the perfect retort to something your heroine said? If you answered yes, you may have the writing bug. It's a sickness that strikes the romance writer when she's looked around at what life has had to offer, and decides she wants something more-something besides Lithium and Prozac to get the voices out her head! But do you really have what it takes to BE a writer? That's a tough question, and one I didn't ask myself at the outset of this adventure. I'm a leap before you look kind of gal. If I'd looked first, I might have known I'd lose the few friends I'd made along the way, because they didn't "get" what I was doing and wanted to pull me away from my computer to do things like shop . I might have seen that my family would wonder whether I was entering a new, exotic form of dementia, which included the impulse to rush from my office saying things like, "Do you think Navarro should turn Sidney into a vampire?" or "Do you think werewolves see in color?" Looking back there were so many things about this life I wish I'd known. But becoming a writer doesn't come with a college course and a certification exam. It's what you do. What I did was make a lot of mistakes along the way-one's I'll use in my stand-up routine someday when I'm talking to a room full of fledgling writers. Wouldn't you like to know what some of those missteps were? All right, I didn't do everything wrong, obviously, so there are many positive lessons to learn from my experience-and from the collective experience of everyone at Rose's Colored Glasses. What the writers here want to do is demystify some of the process of becoming a published writer, and give you step-by-guidance and tools to help you as you progress along this career path. Some of the things we espouse will strike you as just right for you and some will make you shudder. We're all taking different routes to the same destination, so there really isn't one path to publication. If you're up for the journey, or are just plain curious about what we have to say, stick around and become part of Rose's extended network of writing friends. We're a support group to help you learn to live with your obsession, and maybe new friends to replace the ones that abandoned you to the madness! ~Delilah Devlin www.deliliahdevlin.com (reprinted with permission from www.rosescoloredglasses.com)