11 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Writing

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I've been writing for about forever. 

For as long as I can remember, I've been dreaming up stories in my head and trying to put them into words. It's just who I am. 

It wasn't until about two years ago, though, that I decided to really pursue this as a career. 

It's not like writing is that easy, I realized. There's a lot more to it than just what I assumed when I started. Over the past two years of doing my "serious writing" I've learned a lot. 

Here are 11 things I wish I knew before I started writing:

1. Not everything you write is going to be good. I'm a perfectionist and, unfortunately, not everything that I write is perfect. (Actually, none of it really is.) Some of it will be good, and some if it will not. That's just the nature of it.
2. Coming up with stories isn't that easy. Trying to come up with different, unique plot lines and characters is a lot harder than I thought it would be. 
3. You won't finish everything you start. There have been many projects that I've given up halfway through. Maybe I'll get back to them one day, and maybe I won't. It's okay either way.
4. Your first draft isn't going to be what you send to publishers. Editing is a necessary evil in this business. The thing about writing is that it takes time for it to be good. You could write and rewrite a hundred times before it's where you want it. That's okay too.
5. You have to be careful which publishers you let have your book. I got a call from a publisher about Coffee Colored in September-ish last year, and was so ecstatic. But then they asked me for $2,000 and I looked into reviews of them and found some shady stuff. Needless to say, they don't own the rights to my book. Be careful not to be deceived. 
6. Your first book isn't likely to get picked up by a publisher. It's probably not likely that your first book will get published (it could, don't get me wrong), it's just that usually, your first book isn't up to "publisher standards." Writing takes a lot of practice. 
7. Self-publishing is awesome. I never thought that I would self-publish. I thought I would just take my time trying to make my books perfect and exactly what publishers were looking for so that I could end up in the rows of Barnes & Noble. And while that is still definitely something I am pursing, I have also found self-publsihing to be very rewarding in the meantime. ((Shameless plug) You can buy Coffee Colored here, if you'd like.)
8. It's okay if you write fan fiction. Personally, I don't, but I do read it. And let me tell you: I've read some fic that is better than some published novels that I've read. Don't let people discourage you from writing fic if that's what you want to write. It's totally a totally valid genre.
9. Reading a ton is the key to good writing. The more you read, the more you will learn about how to write. It's been so helpful for me to read other books and study how those authors write. It's helped me improve my writing so much. (It's even okay to read fic, especially good fic, because that can help you improve as well.) 
10. NaNoWriMo is an excellent motivator. I wouldn't have finished either of my two books if it weren't for NaNoWriMo, honestly. Coffee Colored was mostly written in November 2013 (although I didn't finish completely until January 2014), and Scavenger Hearts (which will hopefully be available soon) I wrote completely in November 2014. (I'm working on editing it right now.) ((p.s. don't forget that it's okay if you don't reach 50,000 words. 50,000 words does not a make or break a novel. As long as you're happy with where it ended, then you've done it.))
11. The most important thing to do when you are a writer is to write. This seems like a no duh type of thing to say, I know. But the fact is that writing is really, really hard. It seems glamorous and oh yeah, I can totally write a book, but it's not that simple. Writing takes time and dedication and discipline. Set aside time everyday to write, and you will reach your goals much quicker.

If you have anything that you wish you would have known when you started writing, let me know in the comments below! I'd love to hear how you've all grown as writers. :)

Blessings,

Shi.

8 Things I Want to Do Before I Die

Pretty much everyone has a list of things they want to do before they die, right? Well, this is mine. A lot of it is pretty cliche stuff, but I am a firm believer that the little things in life are the absolute most important. 

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♠ First, I want to continue growing my relationship with the Lord. I want to be on fire for him. (I also want to read the bible all the way through.)

♠ Stay close with the best friends/family that I have now. I also want to continue making new friends and finding people who want to come along with me and my crazy self.

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♠ Graduate. Both high school (four more months!!) and college. I'm very thankful for getting the opportunity at an education, and can't wait to continue it. 

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♠ Ride every ride at Cedar Point. TALK ABOUT CLICHE. But seriously, I love roller coasters and I do want to ride every single ride there. It's fun.

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♠ Read lots and lots of books. I'm a book girl; I got, like, five books for my eighteenth birthday and it was the best day of my life. Maybe some book reviews in the future for this blog? ;)

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♠ Publish a book (hopefully more). I want to make my writing successful before I die. My dream is to have a book become as successful as, like, The Fault in Our Stars or something. 

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♠ Fall in love, get married, and have a family. My ultimate dream in life is just to be a stay at home mom/wife. If I get that accomplished, I'll be the happiest girl in the world. 

So there are a few of the things that are on my bucket list. What's on your bucket list? Be sure to leave me a comment below and tell me what you want to do before you die!

-Shi

p.s. in case you couldn't tell, most of these posts are from weheartit. I don't know the original sources of the photos. Sorry.

Coffee Colored

Hey,

so much for keeping up on this blog, right? I'm literally so bad at this.

I just wanted to let you all know that I have officially finished my first book!
I am so happy with the way it turned out and thankful for all of the support that I've been given on it. It is available to read on Wattpad for now (click here if you'd like to read it.) I would, however, love to get it published. I can't imagine how amazing that would be. If I were to publish it, the plot holes, grammatical issues, and a little bit of the plot would be altered. It would basically just be really polished up and better. I'm really hoping to do this, so if anyone has any tips or advice that I should take while looking for a publisher please let me know!

Thanks so much xx