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Welcome! We weave dreams, some dark, some not, but all fantastic.

We are authors of Fantasy, Romance, and much more. Enter our infinite worlds....

On this blog, our visitors will find advice and opinion from published authors on much more than just world-building. We'll tell you in Craft and Opinion posts what we do, how we do it, and what we think works for us.

Authors with A-names post on the 1st of each month, B-names post on the 2nd, C-names on the 3rd etc.
The 29th, 30th, and 31st are free-for-all days.




Sunday, December 21, 2008

Do we tend to forget?

I remember what it was like to be a new writer. I tell myself that often. Some days, when I'm learning something new about the NY machine or something similar, I believe the lie that I remember what being new was really like.

Then comes days like today. I signed onto a contest forum and started reading the threads. Many of the questions were things I wouldn't have had to ask, and I passed over them. They're new authors; they're doing what they should...asking, learning... I remember that. That's what being a new author is; that's the process.

Then I came across a set of questions from first-time novelists, anguished... "What do I do? What does that mean? How can anyone learn this? I'm going to fail, because I don't understand..." It's heart-wrenching, and I find myself reaching out to those new authors and offering information...mentoring, anything short of editing them, because I just don't have time to do it.

Was I never that scared new author? Was I always like I am now, save with less personal experience and information at my disposal? Or have I simply forgotten what that panic and anguish was like?

Assuming I was once that scared newbie... Does it make me less to have forgotten something so elemental and stomach-churning? Or does it mean I've just grown and see it with a clearer eye, the internal voice that assures me: "Asking is all right. It's not the end of the world. The worst they can say is 'no.' I can learn this. I want to learn this, to improve my craft and my professionalism. If I fail today, I move on and succeed tomorrow."?

And does it make me a better mentor or worse that I can assure them that "This too shall pass." while I seem to have forgotten how horrible this phase is...or never knew it?

Brenna Lyons

http://www.brennalyons.com


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