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Delaware, United States
Deborah Hawkins, penned Debra Renée Byrd, began writing after a blank book project in elementary school and never stopped, fashioning stories based on her favorite TV shows and movies before creating more original works. She studied at the University of the Arts and Florida State University before settling down and graduating from Temple University. She now resides in her hometown of Dover, DE, where she spends most of her time at work or at church. She loves fantasies, superheroes, is a trekkie and a brown coat. She loves television and lives for Final Fantasy video games, having collected most of them. She has read a myriad of authors, and her favorite authors change whenever she finds a new book that changes her life... "When you can't run, you crawl. When you can't crawl...well, you know the rest." -Tracey, Firefly, "The Message"

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Wednesday, June 5, 2013

IWSG: Your Plans


Welcome back to the Insecure Writer's Support Group!


As always, a big domo amarigato to Ninja Alex-Sensei for this group. Stop by his blog here to read his insecurities this month, as well as view the list of the other members.

So, plans. Last night, I planned to start this blog post early so I wouldn't have to do it today. HA!

But seriously, 10 years ago today, I graduated from Dover High School not having applied to any college because I had decided that I would make my way to Florida and become a big pop star. I wish I were joking. I wanted to be the black Britney Spears. I could at least sing better, but I'm an awkward dancer and really have 0 stage presence, but I didn't give up on that dream for about 6 months. I ended up staying home, unable to get a job, and playing Final Fantasy 9 and 10. My mom, feeling sorry for me, often paid me to do odd jobs around the house while I slowly came to my senses.

This year 10 years ago (somewhere) was also when I had the weird being-chased-by-black-robots-in-a-room-made-of-wicker dream that soon became my current fantasy WIP and got me into the Writing for Film/TV program at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Back then, I had planned to finish it, publish it, and be working on the screenplay around, well this time. Another HA!

I told one of my coworkers the other day (because his son also wants to be a writer and can't be told he isn't great) that the problem with us folks in small-cities Delaware is that we don't realize we're not the cream of the crop until we LEAVE Delaware. It took me the next 6 years to finish my WIP (I edit as I go, too, and studying did often come first), and even then I had to learn that what I'd finished was a first draft. I'd even printed my first draft AND my second, thinking I had arrived. Needless to say, as I'm revising again, I haven't arrived.

I say all of this to say don't plan too hard. haha Or if you do, know that you will need a Plan B through D (at least). I'd also planned to be married with one child by now, and well, that's an IWSG post I've already done.

6 comments:

Linda King said...

There's no rush! Keep at it in whatever form and you'll get there if that's what you want. And how boring life would be if we could plan everything!

SC Author said...

This is a great post, and oddly inspirational. Keep going! Surprises are fun :)

Anonymous said...

Interesting post. You're right. Don't plan too hard.

Sheena-kay Graham said...

You at least tried and after realizing it wouldn't work move on. So many people take much longer to move on with their lives. You will finish your WIP one day, don't give up. New Follower.

Blog: Queendsheena
IWSG Co-host

Anonymous said...

Thanks everyone!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Often it just doesn't happen as fast as we want it to happen. (I'm twenty years past you, but hopefully you'll do it faster than I did!)