Ana Miranda
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Talent or intent? 

3/2/2015

4 Comments

 
About ten years ago I got this itch and started writing stories. I had the idea, thought about it for a while and then jotted it down on my notebook. A while later I typed it on our shared home computer and was done with it forever. That was writing for me for a long time.

I had no technique. No discipline. No routine.

I also didn’t believe I was a writer. It was just something I felt like doing.

I showed my stories to my father, who liked them and started printing them now and then on his local newspaper. My column was called E daí? (So what?)

I showed some of them to my professors at University and they provided me some good feedback.

People talked to me on the street about how they resonated with the stories I wrote. (I lived on a very small town). 
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I moved to the US and started blogging about my experiences. I wrote some stories in English. I took a Fiction Writing workshop on Monday nights. That’s when I started dreaming about actually being a writer.

With the help from a friend I self-published a collection of short-stories at my old University press. 
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And then I stopped writing. I don’t know why.

I spent a year in one of the most peaceful, beautiful places I had ever seen and I didn’t write a single story. I had a lot of free time and not a lot to worry about. Why didn’t I write? I lived in an effin tower right next to an effin castle, for god’s sake!

Maybe that hibernating time was necessary.

Now I write again and I gradually became more serious about it. I realized that writing is something I will always do, no matter what. I also admitted that I needed to improve a lot and this is what I’ve been trying:

  • Write more.
  • Read more. 
  • Read about writing.
  • Talk about writing.
  • Ask friends to beta-read and give feedback.
  • Re-write (Seriously the most important thing I’m learning right now.)
  • Treat my writing as a job. Don’t schedule anything after I set that time for writing.
  • Implement techniques like this one. 

Truth be said, I didn’t spend all day and I didn’t come up with one novel idea. I sat down for a couple of hours and in the end I had a series of ideas for short stories or novellas. They are placed right in front of me on my desk and whenever I finish a story I have a beautiful list to choose the next one from. 

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At the moment I'm waiting for feedback from beta readers, creating a cover and writing a new short story. Then I need a final edit, formatting and a nice blurb. I never thought I'd be saying this. How exciting! 

How about you? Are you working on that big dream? Are you giving your talents a chance to flourish? 
4 Comments
Cynthia Lindeman link
5/2/2015 08:21:22 am

Love the post-it note idea!! Can I pass it on with credit to you??? ON another note, I totally did not take my writing seriously either for many years. I actually attribute it to a kind of writer's block. It pains me to think of how many years were wasted. I don't want to see that happen to another writer. I'm so inspired that you're standing up for your dream and digging who you are . . . a writer.

Reply
Ana Elisa Miranda
5/2/2015 10:33:52 am

Hi Cynthia!
I'm so glad you enjoyed the post and I admire the work you're doing for other writers!
The post-it idea was inspired by this blog: http://www.kseniaanske.com/blog/2012/7/26/how-to-come-up-with-a-novel-idea-in-1-day.html?rq=idea
xxx

Reply
Heather link
19/2/2015 07:57:33 am

Hi! I'm so happy you're writing now. I'm reading The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp, and she talks about the work of creativity, which you have discovered. Our daily discipline is what makes room for the magic to happen. :)

Reply
Ana Elisa Miranda
21/2/2015 04:47:23 am

Hi Heather, thanks for the visit and comment. I'll have to check The Creative Habit out :)

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    Hey! I'm Ana - a teacher who loves reading, writing, traveling and nature. 

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