From Journals To Novels — Write For Yourself, Then Expand

Writing often begins as personal therapy, but to become an effective writer, remember you are not the reader

Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash

Introduction

Writing is an outlet for many, and most people start writing because they have something important to say. A journal entry is an exhale — splattering your deoxygenated air across the page to make room in your life for a rejuvenating, deep breath. Check out these Benefits of Journaling to get started.

…most people start writing because they have something important to say.

When I started really writing a decade ago, I was sure everyone would be interested in my personal memoir — a story about becoming a group fitness instructor and triathlete to combat my college weight gain. Nope. That book was never for anyone except me. It was a reset. A cleanse. A personal examination of my ‘why,’ and a search for self-acceptance.

Then I wrote my first novel during the pandemic, inspired by dreams I’d recorded over the previous decade. I tried to make it interesting as a grounded sci-fi/fantasy but those first few drafts — whew, or more like, ew. Early feedback crushed me to hear the term ‘info dump,’ but that’s…