To own the truth, gentle readers, I was terrified to begin writing a novel. I didn’t feel worthy. I hadn’t majored in Creative Writing, I didn’t have a fancy MFA on my wall… and those were the people who had permission to write books. Weren’t they? I played with short stories. Those were safe enough. A novel, however was a massive investment of time, and one that a mere literary civilian like me shouldn’t dare undertake. In order to complete the project that would become Promised to the Crown, I had to treat each chapter like its own short story so that I could summon the courage to finish it (and yes, it took a lot of editing to make it read like one cohesive book). Since that time, I’ve met writers of every possible description. Some have those fancy MFAs and who never doubted that they had the universe’s permission to spend hundreds of unpaid hours on a project. Most of them were like me—non English majors with busy lives who dreamed of creating our own worlds on the page. Finishing Promised to the Crown was possibly one of the bravest acts of my life, but I’m so glad I did!
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Amy I’m so glad you shared this! I feel like a “literary civilian” myself! I’ve recently decided to tackle writing a book and I have these same feelings about it! I’m so glad you overcame your doubt and gave the world a great book.