I fell in love with writing stories in the third grade when (probably thanks to my mom) my short story was published in the PTA newsletter. I didn’t particularly enjoy the taunting I got on the bus ride home that day but I didn’t let it get me down. I was a published writer at the age of eight! Since then, I’ve dreamed of writing a published novel. I made a few attempts, mostly within the safety net of a classroom, but I haven’t pursued this dream in earnest. Maybe I’m afraid I won’t achieve it. Or maybe I’m afraid I will. The fact of the matter is that if I don’t try, I never will. And if I learned anything from NaNoWriMo is that I have to put forth the effort (duh) to make this happen. So I’m rethinking my goals, slightly. My goal used to be seeing my book on the front table at Barnes & Noble. My ultimate goal was the New York Times Bestseller list (a girl can dream, right?). Those are still my dreams but now I also have the New York Times E-Book Bestseller list to add to … [Read more...]