My First Time

I will always remember my first time – the nerves, the anxiety, worried about approval, performance, and success.

But hey, it’s just a Blog, right?

I wanted to post here so that I could encourage others to write, not to promote my books or myself. I wanted to write for a long time. I always felt that I could write. I felt I was smart, educated and could tell a story. I got screwed up for awhile thinking I had to be Roth or Ford and had to write the Great American Novel, but eventually the need to write overtook my self doubts. So, I wrote.


I am not finished with my journey. I am published by RedRosePublishing.com, but I am not a man in full yet. I am closer to my ideal by having written, by having been accepted for publication, by having gone through the editing process, by having gone through the process of cover art and by having been, finally, published. I hope to be published in print, to quit my day job and spend my days signing books and have my calendar full of speaking engagements, dispensing bits of wisdom as a sage with the respect of aspiring writers and the writing and publishing community. Reality tells me, “ain’t gonna happen.”

And, why not? Because that is not fifteen seconds of fame. That is fifteen years of fame and most likely, it isn’t in the cards for me. It is the Holy Grail. What right do I have to expect that?

In the dream, I miss the point. Write. Put words on the page. Produce prose. These are things that I have to do. Not for publication, but in the words of Dillard, “because I have to.”

Jack London addressed the two routes to publication. One route involved writing short stories for publication and developing publishing credits. A track record, if you will. The other route involved writing 2,000 words per day of a novel 6 days a week. At the end of three months, you would have a novel. At the end of a year, you would have written four novels. At the end of five years, 20 novels. Most likely, 19 of them would have been rejected, but you would have served an apprenticeship that would make you worthy of publication.

The world has changed. London recommended the second route. It isn’t valid anymore. Write, but write for publication. The validation of your efforts provides motivation to keep writing. We all need validation. We all need to keep writing.

Feel free to comment here, or e-mail me, SpikeFremont@aol.com. But write!

Spike