Words by Rae

I think I was 11 the first time I thought of being a writer. I’d written a horribly horrible (in terms of writing/style not content) short novel and thought it was fun. I still have the sixty notebook pages. I keep them to remind myself that I can never be as bad of a writer as I was then.  The short little novel was passed around the girls in my fifth grade class who apparently liked the love story between Kate and Sam. I thrived on the feedback. Their positive endorsements made me think that maybe, just maybe, I had what it took to write full time. I had this idealistic vision that I would live in a tiny house built sometime in the early 1900’s. The attic would be my writing space where I would craft excellent novels that everyone would fawn over. At 11, it seemed like a perfect existence.

Fast forward 10 years and while part of me still wants that house, I’m realizing being an author might not be in my game plan. Obviously it won’t pay the mortgage on that quant house, it also doesn’t seem possible. I’ve written and finished 6 or so novels and tried to publish two of them. I was rejected with both projects. During my first week of class this semester, some of my professors explained that in the PR business sometimes we have to make things happen for ourselves. It’s an idea that I’ve always been aware of, but hearing it again made me think.

The idea of publishing has never really left me, even though I’ve picked a different career path. The traditional way obviously didn’t work out for me. I’ve considered self-publishing on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, but it’s a long process. The 11 year-old is still alive in me. I never wanted to write for the money. I wrote because I had stories inside me that I wanted to share. The positive feedback from my readers pushed me to write more. I write because I like to share the stories inside my head (even though sharing a project for the first time absolutely terrifies me.)

I know that blogs can be a powerful resource. They are a free and easy way to spread information to people all over the world. I may not be able to run a mile, but I sure as heck can run a blog. The combination of all of this led me to one of the best ideas I’ve had in a while. Why not create a blog where I can post all of my writing? Hence the creation of www.wordsbyrae.tumblr.com

I chose Tumblr mainly because of the tags feature. I know blogger has one as well, but Tumblr’s makes more sense to me. I’ve seen other people post their writing on the website and have seen the positive reception it has received. So far I only have my latest Camp Nano effort Restart up as well as The Summer of Luke (some of you may have read it when I had it up on Figment.) I’m hoping to be able to post my new things as I finish them, but that’s much easier said than done. Either way, I just want to share. That’s why I started writing in the first place. If you check it out, great. If not, well at least you know it’s there. If you have a Tumblr, message me and let me know what you think of the pieces. You can always message me here too.

Rae