From that day in the fifth grade when my English teacher assigned our class project – to write a book – I knew I wanted to be a writer. I’d always been an avid reader, but until that day, it hadn’t occurred to me that the stories in my head could become a story that one day others would read.
I kept at it through high school, college, and law school. The child of immigrant parents and an immigrant myself, education was important, but so was a career that would pay the bills. My parents, especially my mom, didn’t think writing would do it and I am eternally grateful that I was an obedient child since my day job has provided me with many wonderful opportunities.
But so did the world of writing. New friends and new places to visit. Of course, that was balanced out by something I didn’t expect: the writing blizzard. The flurries of ideas that might not ever become anything more. The avalanche of rejection letters that gave way to an even greater avalanche of edits, marketing demands, business obligations, and more.
A lot of new writers I meet think that getting published is the hard part. I gently try to prepare them for the greater blizzard of work that comes after publication.
But if writing is your passion, you put your head down and weather the blizzard because something bright and wonderful emerges from the storm: a new story.
And then the blizzard begins all over again!
