*Life is in the journey!* ~ Origins

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Life's Inspirational Valiant Endeavors

~ Origins ~

“What are YOUR origins?”

Hi and Howdy! 

I'd like to say, Thank YOU!, to DL Hammons (Cruising Altitude 2.0), Katie Mills (Creepy Query Girl), Alex J. Cavanaugh and Matthew MacNish (The Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment) for hosting the ORIGINS blogfest today!

 *Tell us all where your writing dreams began. 

It all started somewhere and we want you to tell us your own, unique, beginnings.*

Life is in the journey!

To LIVE with eyes wide open, 

inspiring ourselves and others, 

finding the courage to do so, 

as we strive toward a greater purpose...

This is my journey!

The first time I heard the question, “So I hear you’re writing a novel,” I wanted to crawl into a hole where I would, first, be free to contemplate the imminent tongue-lashing (followed by much kissing, of course) of he who must be named – my cheer-leading husband – for ever having mentioned IT to anyone *not on the list*... and second, a place of solitude where I could count the multitude of foolish, foolish dreams which had led me, oh so willingly, into this predicament.

For the record, those few brave souls *on the list* were to be read the following disclaimer upon their induction into this writer's (yes, that just happened) circle of trust: “I, (that's me) being of questionable mind and weakened spirit, do hereby admit to writing something, resembling but not limited to anything, of which will be referred to from here out simply as, a book, and of which, I do not expect (lie) to actually be considered (lie, lie) by any reputable agent (liar, liar pants on fire), because I know in my heart that, even though I am a wonderfully nice person (three weeks out of every lunar cycle), everyone knows (I want names) that publishing is likened to winning the lottery (I want names and I want my happy place back)!”

My love for writing began the moment I broke in the binding of my first paperback romance, at the tender age of thirteen. A whole new world opened up to me, teeming with Love, Loss and Lust. I remember the look on my mother’s face as she passed by my bedroom where I sat, huddled, with my head buried between the pages. It was that same look I gave my daughter when she first discovered Stephanie Meyer’s, “Twilight”. I was instantly hooked on the language of storytelling. Words were my new love, and to quote Edward Cullen, “… like my own personal brand of heroin.”

Raging hormones aside, publication or even the light of day eluded my characters once real life happened.  Stacks of writing journals, ripe with cliche characters and weak plot outlines, sat idle and stuffed into bottom drawers throughout my roaring twenties (which were rather dull actually, unless wandering from state to state in search of myself is considered roar-worthy). My characters, my make-believe, turned out young women, lost like me, but who had found the courage to fight for their truth and their voice. Women stronger than me. Women defined more by the fight within than their insecurities. 

By the time I hit my thirties, I had fallen willingly into the life of a devoted, though painfully lost, mother to three little monsters and, as such, had neither the time nor the energy to pursue what was still my dream ~ to write stories. 

My writing journey, my origins, are what’s given me my education. For that, I am grateful. And though I dreamt (yep, still do) of being whisked away to the land of publishing by a fairy godmother (a reputable agent) ~ because I'm just that good ~ it is simply telling a good story that drives me to spending hours, days... nay, a LIFETIME of pulling at my hair and holding my breath, as I hover over my keyboard in light and in darkness. Stepping outside of myself to captivate an audience, attempting to master the English language (Ha!) in the details... There is the true magic. And if it just so happens to irrevocably change the course of another human being's existence, then win-win.

As much as I have struggled over the years with the fear that I am not good enough to call myself ~ A Writer ~ I think I have finally accepted the truth of my calling. It matters little, really, that I keep up with the big boys and girls. Winning the trophy is oh, so nice, I won't lie, but the path, in which I continue to discover more about myself in search of that road less traveled, is truly the reward in itself. It's in the journey that we discover who we are and who we want to be. Not the destination.

Happiness, contentment, and fulfillment 

are found in the enthusiasm we carry for Life.
Here and Now. 

To write, is to dream.

To dream, is to let in hope...

opening up your world and the world of others 
to infinite possibility.

It is in our lifelong search to achieve,

Life’s Inspirational Valiant Endeavors, 
that we are most alive.

And there is nothing greater in this world 
than finding You Are Not Alone, 
within the pages of a good story.

*Life is in the journey!* is a weekly series here on Scarlett’s Tattoo.

Please DO join in the conversation!

Every voice matters.

“The best way out is always through.”

~ Robert Frost