Writing.
Ernest Hemingway once said, "There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."
In fact, this quote is on the locked screen of my phone to continuously remind me that writing isn't something that happens overnight. It's not even something that you will be rewarded for or even acknowledged for. Hell, half of the time people don't even know that I enjoy writing even though I've done it since I was in second grade.
But, here's the thing with writing. I don't write because I want fame or because I think it's going to be the one thing that takes care of my family and will get me noticed. I do it because there are too many voices in my head wanting to come out. They're not perfect, they don't listen to me when I tell them what to do. Half of the time the stories that come out aren't where I thought they'd go at all.
I write because it's a part of who I am. I'm not claiming to be perfect, I'm not claiming to be the best writer out there. All I'm claiming to be is a girl from a small town that nobody has ever heard of with a dream. And that dream is to write.
Some of the things that come out of my mouth and onto the keys aren't going to be perfect. They're not always going to be politically correct. They may be what you needed to lose yourself in, they may piss you off. Here's the thing: I think we need people to follow their passions and their dreams more. I think we need to hear more stories no matter if they're in the genre you like or they're the kind of things you like to read. I never thought I'd be starting a blog to write. Maybe this is the only place where my writing will end up. But at least I can tell my children and my grandbabies that I followed my passion and it was scary as hell but worth every second.
As of right now, I'm still in the editing process. I have 2 books done but they need to be edited. I have 8 more books that are coming out of me, some of them will be series. Be patient with me, I'm the mother of two boys who are rowdy and sassy and break everything in their path like a tornado in a trailer park. (Oh, did I mention that's where we live???) Life gets crazy busy between work, school, extracurricular activities and all that in between. Posts won't happen every day. Sometimes they won't happen every week. I hope not to be one of those people that leave you hanging until the next time I post but I'm going to be honest here and now: it will happen.
I don't do it on purpose, I don't do it to be spiteful, I don't do it for the attention. I do it because first and foremost my family comes first. I hope you can understand that.
A.R. Phillipps is a pen name that I created for myself. It's part of the process of coming out of my shell and letting the stories in my head come out into words for everyone to read. Stage fright is a real thing, my friends, and it isn't limited to actual stages.
So, here's to creativity. Here's to passions. Here's to no holding back! Until next time, friends, in the words of Mr. Feeny: "Believe in yourselves. Dream. Try. Do good."
