You have to be willing to put yourself out there and accept criticism as well as praise, because only then will you truly grow in your writings.
My first published novel was the most difficult as the realization hit that others were going to be reading the book and leaving reviews. Here I must thank my long-time writer-friends Roger Lawrence and Elizabeth MaGinnis for their support and help. I also thank my dear friend Claudia Barney and my cousin Tammy Herman for reading the WIP and giving me positive comments.
I've now published several books and have found that as time goes on and I continue writing, story ideas never stop. Sometimes, the story just plain nags me until I write.
But the most difficult part of the writing process is the editing and revising. Yet, even in the greatest authors' works I run into mistakes.
Still, the enjoyment comes when you see your characters come alive before your eyes.
So, if you've ever considered writing a book, join a writer's club, sit down, and start writing. If you don't begin, you'll never find the ending.
I leave you with a few of my favorite quotes:
When the first baby laughed for the first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they went skipping about and that was the beginning of fairies.
— Sir James Mathiew Barrie ( 1860-1937) Peter Pan, Act1.
Begin at the beginning… and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
— Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll 1832-1898
The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
It all begins when the soul would have its way with you.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson