Every time I read a book or see a movie, I always catch myself thinking, "Why didn't I think of that idea?" When looking at a finished piece of writing, everything looks like it came so easy. But in reality, it must have taken months/years to get that piece of writing to the amazing finished product. Coming up with the topic is only half the battle. After that, it is getting down into strong prose; prose that others are going to be compelled to read and want to read more.
I have realized that strong writing isn't as much as a gift as it is a process. Are you willing to devote yourself to the process of getting your ideas down, of crossing out, add, editing, and maybe throwing it all away just to start all over again tomorrow? Not everyone is cut out to be a writer--it takes just as much determination as training for a marathon. Writers write everyday; most writers set aside hours in their day where they will write. Am I at that place in my writing life? No, but I would like to be.
Maybe I won't see my name in Barnes and Noble anytime soon. But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop writing. All it takes for a successful novel is one idea...One idea and the ambition to tell the idea to the world.
One of the best books I've read this year was "Pivot Point" by Kasie West. It tells the story of Addie, a girl who has the gift of being able to see both outcomes of any choice she has. Typically there has always been one strong choice. But what happens when Addie isn't happy with either choice? Is your own happiness worth sacrificing for the sake of others?
"Pivot Point" was a fast read because the chapters changed between the two choices Addie was faced with. They would leave off at a key point in one chapter and you'd have to read two more chapters to figure out what happened. Addie was also a very relatable character--she had close friends that she would do anything for and was very down-to-earth. You also can relate to Trevor, a boy she meets at her new school in one of her choices. You sympathize with him because he lost something that meant a lot to him. But you also can feel his genuine niceness coming out through the pages.
