And we're off!

I have started a new blog, since I have begun writing again after a 3-year hiatus.

A little bit about myself before I get started. Hello, I'm Shelly, also the creator of the Girl on Fire: From Underdog to Beastmode page and the Vegan Zombies Love Grains page. After continually doing separate updates for each page, I grew somewhat tired of the double-tasking. So I combined the blogs into one blog, the one that you're reading.

I have been writing since 1990, when I began telling stories inside my journals for school. Being that my first-grade journals are almost impossible to read, I figure the stories must have been at least marginally good. To the tune, in fact, that my teachers began placing me in advanced writing and reading courses. I went to high school and had some amazing English teachers and one Art teacher who knew I couldn't draw but knew I could draw. It was because of their encouragement that I decided to go into English as my major in college, as I believed that I would make more money doing that then as a creative writer. But, lo and behold, technical writing was fun but monotonous and I longed for a change of scenery.

I tried different majors, but none of them really satisfied me to the full degree that writing did. I am currently majoring in Biology, and it is a great major, and will probably stave me over enough that I can still write on the side. But my heart is definitely in creative writing, tutoring, and blogging.

In 2010 I suffered the demise of an abusive and controlling relationship. It really took a toll on me, physically, mentally, emotionally. Even though the relationship ended and I never saw him again I developed PTSD from it. I was so anxious and on edge all the time I was simply unable to write. Plus, my ex-boyfriend regularly ridiculed me for writing when I could be doing something better.

In 2011 I met my now-fiancé and in 2012 we were engaged. I have learned a lot from him and gradually I began breaking out of my shell. I lost 35 lbs thanks to my awesome friends at Supplement Superstores (more on that in later posts, no doubt) and gained friends there that caused me to come out of my shell all the more.

One day in 2013 my fiancé took me to see a movie. There was this one particular scene in the movie where the character has found out about the loss of his mother, and puts up a front so no one sees his secret pain. Being through what I have been through, it caused the writer's block to crumble. I don't know what it was about the movie or about the character that caused the wellspring of ideas, I just know it was a positive, almost surreal experience.

I didn't know how to start a new novel, so I stared somewhat aimlessly at the screen, hoping something would pop up. I had nothing new to contribute. But I remembered one story on my computer, one of the few from that series that had not been lost in the computer switch. It was maybe 4-5 pages long, but I liked what I saw in the material. Holding the images in my head, I produced another 19 pages, adding up to about 13k words thus far.

I had anticipated expanding on one of my characters, but it has produced my favorite villain I have ever written. Without giving too much away, he is extraordinarily gifted in his "trade," but having been kept in isolation much of his life he is completely inept at everything else around him. I like the way it worked out because the protagonist and the antagonist are very similar, and I kind of wanted to leave you not sure who the real protagonist actually is. :-)

Maybe I'm weird for writing this way. That's okay I suppose, my Aspie brain does what it can. But I am excited to find out what this holds for me as far as next steps. My fiancé is strongly encouraging me to publish my novels. I have held off for a time because my writing was deeply personal and deeply disturbing, and I wanted to wait until I could clean it up a bit before I sent it off. But now I kind of have a glimmer of hope in that direction. Sound good?

Let's get this show on the road. Glad to have you here, be blessed and enjoy the journey.