Why I want to write

Anyone that knows me knows that I am an engineer. Overall, my personality, my quirks, my likes and dislikes all match those of the person you think of when you imagine left-brain types such as engineers, or accountants, or actuaries. And, when we think of the people in these careers, we don’t think of them having an artistic side. But surprisingly, some of us left-brainers do.

Showing that artistic side, though, is another matter. We left-brainers are the type of people that like the finite and the structured. This is one of the reasons Math is so appealing to me. In Math there are rules, and those rules are the rules all of the time; except, when there are exceptions. But even when there are exceptions, there are rules that dictate the exceptions. For the left-brainer, this is great. We learn the rules, we learn the exceptions to the rules, and we can do whatever we want. However, in artistic pursuits, this is not the case at all. Everything is so fluid that it can be uncomfortable.

So, if I am uncomfortable with the freedom of creativity, then why am I writing? The simple answer is because I can no longer avoid it. I have all of these scenes, characters, story ideas, and stuff just building up in my brain and I have to put them on paper. And to my surprise, I really enjoy writing. Forming a story, creating characters, describing the scenes I see in my mind is a lot of fun.

Once I decided that I would start writing, as all good left-brainers would, I decided to try to make a living from it. And that brings me to today. So far, I’ve written several short stories and one novel. My goal is to get that novel published. And much to my dismay, getting this accomplished is very unlike Math. Instead of there being rules to getting published, there are guidelines for a process. The simplified steps to this process are as follows:

1. Write a novel (or whatever it is you hope to sell).
2. Find an agent to represent you and your work to publishing houses.
3. Get a contract with a publishing house for your current novel and your future works.

Seems simple, but it is definitely not. After a novel is completed (which is no small task) it could take years before finding an agent. And some writers never find one. So today, I am a left-brainer who has written a novel and is now at the mercy of the creative process to get is published. Let’s see how it goes.

Sharolyn