Tuesday, March 20, 2007

How Do I Dare?

How do I dare crown myself "queen"? Well, if there's one thing God has tried to teach me in life, it's how to wait. I started dating embarrassingly late. I was thirty-one when I married. (And you were worth every minute of the wait, honey!) Having a baby? Still waiting on that one, thirteen years after deciding to start a family.

And then there's my writing career. I knew I wanted to be a novelist when I was seven. When I was eighteen, I sent away my first novel manuscript. Now here I am, still on that elusive road to publication thirty years later. (Yes, you can do the math. I don't mind.)

After thirty years in this game, I have a lot to share--although frankly, sometimes I've been hesitant to do it. Will people be encouraged by my story--or run screaming in hysterics, thinking of the long, difficult road that might lie ahead? Will readers just dismiss me as a loser, thinking I obviously have no talent if I've been at it that long?

I hope you don't react either way. First of all, I played around a lot of those years, and was clueless for more than I care to mention. I've learned lessons that could help you cut time off your writing journey. And as I learned those lessons, I finaled in a contest, drew encouragement and support from two well-known authors, and signed with an agent!

God has also shown me so much about the process of waiting, itself. He's taught me that sometimes you hold on and keep working--and sometimes you let go. I know now I'll probably never have children. That was one of my dreams I had to relinquish.

Does that mean this site will be sad and whiney? Not at all! God has blessed me beyond belief, and I've discovered how well He knows me--what I'm ready for, and what I'm not. I'll share more about all that later.

Also, because I had to pay bills while pursuing this writing thing, I became a librarian. I teach research skills to college students and answer reference questions. Along the way, I've discovered tricks and resources that are perfect for novelists--beginning, multi-published, or whoever. I want to share those resources, too. So I hope you'll check here often. Or better yet, use the email button in the right-hand column to subscribe.

3 comments:

  1. Thank you for your beautiful insite to the way God has worked in your life! The fact that you are and expert in waiting shows me that you aren't some whiney child or spoiled brat that gives up when they don't get their way...as fast as they want it! God is going to bless you, and it might be through your waiting. I hope you write a book about the beauty of waiting on God. Our "instant gratification" society has ruined so much of what made our ancestors the amazing, hard working people they were.
    Sincerely,
    Your Sister in Christ
    Hope

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  2. Hope,

    Thanks so much for your encouragement. I'm beginning to figure out that God wanted to teach me more about waiting and relying on him than about writing, over the years. Funny you should mention writing a book about it. That's been in the back of my mind for awhile now. We'll see...

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  3. You are a very interesting person, Robin! I probably could learn a lot from your experiences!A lot of people just do not get having a relationship with God. I struggle everyday being around my friends because they just do not understand.

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