Breaking Into Soul by Tonya Scott Wyandon

$23.09

Paperback

Hello Red Room Authors and Writers!  Thank you for reading my blog.  Tonight is my first night blogging, thanks to the encouraging words of Ivory Madison, who had been amazingly supportive of my success as a first time novelist. 

I am truly grateful to be on this journey.  I am a self-published author who is learning everyday and my opinions have become many in regards to the market.  But on this journey, what I have learned is to trust myself, believe in my capabilities, and to keep going, no matter what.  I love writing; I’ve always loved paper, pens and words.

As a girl, growing up in a small rural town in Louisiana, I would create short stories and exchange them with a friend who lived on my street.  Growing up, she did everything the right and proper way (my opinion).  Her childhood short stories led her to the path of the writer’s world.  In High School, she wrote for the school newspaper and the Yearbook. In College, she studied Journalism in the Mass Communications Department.  Upon graduation, she became Editor for the local newspaper.

As for me, I was never as organized as she.  Although I attended college for four years, during my last year, I moved to New York City where I lived in every single borough except for the Bronx.  My Editor friend and I kept in touch, mostly when we were visiting our hometown.  On occasion, I would ask her if she were still writing.  And always, to my surprise, she was not.  There would always seem to be an excuse.  For me, it was incomprehensible that she, the most talented, educated, and proper writer I’d ever known, could not find the time to write!  I would ask…

“Well, do you at least keep a journal?” 

“No.”

“What are you reading?” 

“Nothing, I’m too busy to read.” 

Creating words that create magic blows me away!  Even as a child, while reading, I could clearly see, in my mind’s eye, how completely vivid the story was.  On a good day, I would write.  On a sad day, I would journal.  On an ordinary day, I would read.  When feeling inspired, or in love, I would create poetry. 

How fortunate am I to have continued this journey.  Once I committed to publishing because I knew I had a story, I did everything I knew to do to succeed in the market.  I mailed letters to agents, I received rejection letters, but I did not quit.  My love affair for “Breaking Into Soul” was so real and my belief was so deep, I could not fathom keeping the manuscript underneath my desk for another day.  Certainly, it would have been simple to surrender to watching too much television or I could have allowed myself to be too tired to dedicate my nights to writing, but I didn’t.  Instead, I discovered the sweetest secret.  Once I allowed myself to simply write like no one was watching, I realized there was no greater validation than me.  Quite simply, I believed.

Oh yeah, and the friend who I still believe is a brilliant, talented writer, is no longer employed for the local newspaper.  She quit. 

What about you guys, how do you feel about your craft?  How strong is your belief?  How important is the validation?  Have you been writing forever? And now that you are on this journey, tell me, at the end of the day, do you still feel the magic?