I am a fiction author.

Many people want to be a fiction authors. Very few do it effectively. And few – statistically – accomplish writing even one book. I am a fiction author, though new, you have to start somewhere, and we all start at the beginning.

In becoming a fiction author:

1.) there is a lot more to becoming an effective fiction author than just putting words to paper,
2.) studying the art of writing along the way is crucial,
3.) READING, especially if you have not been reading books regularly, is highly important – as important as writing your own book,
4.) overcoming years, and years of mental decay, on my own part, will take some time. Having been acting as a machine for my own business, watching television, spending too much time on social medial, and generally ignoring my own development as it pertains to writing, had handicapped me.

What I DO KNOW is that, like muscle memory, these things are fairly easy to overcome, learn, and grown on. And all the work you did in the past that will allow you to become a great writer is in your grasp, and that knowledge will return faster than you think.

The learning process has been awesome.

Studying other author’s styles is fun, but not necessary, and for me, has been valuable in regard to HOW they use the skills needed to write rich stories that appeal to the reader.

I’ve read several novels that are young-adult specific, and many that are adult specific (fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, suspense, thriller, etc). I find the contrasting styles of what are considered highly effective fiction authors interesting. Some highly effective writers have, what I see, as horrible writing. Others use the elements of style throughout their writing and are truly masters. I am learning great writing through writing, reading, and time spent learning the craft. And as a new author, I am fine with my first work being second-rate as I learn and grow.

I’m STILL going to write my first novel(s), publish them traditionally or independently, and move forward. For anyone reading this first blog entry, I have to echo what other great writers and teachers have written about when it comes to writing:

Write!

“WRITE!” Pic up the pen, or open up MS WORD, and start typing, and WRITE. Even if it’s shitty work, and you think you have to be the worst writer in the world and no one is ever going to like what you are writing, DO IT ANYWAY. It’s the ONLY way you are going to learn and move forward. One of the first, short stories that I’m going to be blowing was for a writing competition. Needless to say, I did a horrible job, but it was fun writing it, and it was based on my own personal experience as a first time skydiver. You can read it here: Dick To The Wind…

As you write you will study, read, learn what works and what doesn’t, and then go back to your initial writing. Tear it apart and making it into something amazing. That’s how people learn anything. FAILURE is part of the process, and you should embrace your failures as opportunities to learn and grown.

I am beginning my journey as a fiction author with all of this in mind.

Why do I, personally, want to be a writer?

I have been a hotel manager, successful business owner – and business owner who lost it all – and created a children’s museum. I am a school bus driver, and in my youth it all started when I was a general laborer on a thoroughbred horse farm. When I was around eight years old, I wanted to buy my own things, so I got my first job – you could that in those days – and never looked back.

Through it all, I always wanted to write, but like so many others, put it off. When I was very young, probably nine or so, I bought my own Smith Corona electric typewriter, which attached to a video monitor, called a “word processor.” When my dad asked me what a word processor was for, I replied, it processes words.

I was always a very creative child. And I never really “got” the other kids around me. So I engaged in many introverted activities where I did not have to be part of a team. I also experienced many things that have make me now question the world around me. I have also have what people would consider “supernatural” experiences – things you can’t explain to others around you, and seem to far out there to talk about anyway; but for me they were real, and have given me even more reason to question the world around me.

How does someone rectify being creative, feeling different than those around them, and make sense of a world that does not make sense?

For me, writing has been, and especially now, IS the outlet where I can explore all these things; things that I packed up years ago, and kept hidden in the back of my mental closet – until now.

Even if no-one likes what I write as a fiction author, I am mostly doing it for myself. It’s a way of exploring the world around me, and expressing myself in ways that I have not in so many years, if not decades. And I refuse to leave this world not having explored the many questions that I have.

Cheers to you all out there who are aspiring to be writers.

My name is Beau Durand, and I AM a fiction author.
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