I Finished a Book, Here's What Happened

Author Page

The Motivation

I've always been a storyteller. I loved, even as a child to share stories. I loved both fiction and non-fiction. I didn't choose writing as a career however. I was more in the healing and business fields for many years, then after some injuries that left me disabled in many ways, I used art like singing and writing as therapy.

The writing took a serious turn when I realized some stories needed to be told. My stories and stories were shared with me by others via exploration and research. Some of these stories also included part of what makes me a bit unusual which is a ridiculous lucid dreaming empath. I dream the strangest things and they are so creative I felt the calling to share them systematically.

As an empath who counseled advised, researched and worked with thousands of people, I knew that creative expression was where I wanted to be. I wanted to ultimately inspire others by example to be creative in some way, shape or form. 

The Process

The first thing I did was begin to just jot down in a journal my real life experiences as well as my dreams. Then I began creating a column of sorts in a website I had. People really seemed to enjoy what I wrote and I then began officially blogging.

As you may know, there are millions of bloggers in the world covering every subject. It can be really challenging to have your work seen. At one time I had a lot of hits on blog entries and at other times, nothing. I tried all kinds of strategies to increase my visibility like videos, various links, images, creative blog titles, gifs, social media use, you name it, I tried it. All you can do is keep going.

You can try tons of strategies on having your work seen but it is literally a full time job. At the end of the day, it's something I do for short pieces like this, but then I turned to writing books. I took my jottings, journals, even past academic work and found ways of putting them together and a way that made sense. Especially with the non-fiction work. The fiction is another process altogether and each process evolves each time I write. The key for me, is to keep learning and improving.

Things have changed tremendously in the publishing world. Thanks to technology I can write my own books in a simple computer program. Then I can either have it done electronically or do a physical version. Of course, it's not that simple. There are one hundred steps to each process but that's when you do things one step at time. Once you do decide you will do this no matter what, all you need to do is take the time to actually do the work. The best part is that there are many resources available to help in the process.

Expectations and Feelings

There is nothing sadder than knowing no one is reading your work, no matter how much heart, soul and work you put into it. This was how I felt about the blogging. When I switched to book writing. I feared the same would happen. It was intimidating to think about writing a book. All these issues and doubts came into my mind. Was I good enough? Would anyone be interested? Could I handle it? Would I make a difference in the world? I wanted to take what was in my mind and get it out into the world for others to experience. By writing a book I could do this. I expected relief that I finished a book, even in draft form. I was indeed relieved I was able to complete this phase.

The next step was to move on to formatting, editing and packaging it so it can be ready to be published and ready to be seen. It was daunting but I decided to take things a bit at time and understand that this was not a linear process. I went back and forth between all these phases to the point of feeling dizzy, but I kept going. That is the absolutely only way I was able to complete the book. The truth is, it took me nine years to complete my first book on the paranormal and spiritual awakening. But it got done.

Results

The first result is as feeling of incredible accomplishment. It doesn't matter I haven't gotten on the bestseller list (yet). I am determined to share my vision with the world via words as well as in other ways because storytelling is multi-media and multidimensional.

When you first hit publish, there is a feeling of elation. "Wow, I did it!" Enjoy that moment. It really is a huge accomplishment.

My motto is: Better done than perfect, better late than never.

The other result was the feeling of motivation to keep writing. Now I could continue to express myself creatively by writing. It was a bit easier to write my next two books because I developed my own formula. However, once you move into a different genre, I realized I'm back on that very challenging learning curve. The fiction work requires a different process I am still working on. It is challenging and intimidating, but I am loving it. Perhaps my next blog on writing will be sharing the process in fiction writing.

However, as I'm working on the fiction I am also working on my fourth book, a memoir titled Oddball, My life as Ridiculous Abnormal. This is my most personal passion project yet. I finally get to share to a large audience how unusual I am and what makes me both an oddball but also able to understand others as an empath.

What About You?

Do you want to write? What do you want to write? Fiction, Non-fiction, long or short stories? Both? What is your plan? Have you written something already? What are your goals? Share your story, it's worth telling.

~Diana Navarro, M.S.

Photo Credit: Asa Williams

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