Amber Litzenberger

There is nothing like coming to the end of a long hard job and seeing the fruits of your labour in front of you. Whether you are a construction worker and you watch the sweat you poured into a place begin to turn into a house at the end of the day or you are a painter who begins with nothing but a white canvas and after several hours sees a masterpiece forming from the tip of your brush. Likewise, it is sometimes difficult to work hard, and often for a long time, with hardly anything to show for it.
I've spend a good three years of my life writing. I used to read a lot, I think I've mentioned that, and books were a wonderful refuge. But there came a point where I didn't just want to read about different places, didn't want to just follow these amazing characters on their journeys, I wanted to create them. It was a hesitant thing that began as fun and snowballed.
I have participated for the last two years in something called National Novel Writing Month. This takes place in November and people from all over the world attempt to pen 50,000 words in thirty days. The first year I failed, I got to about twenty thousand words in and lost all ambition for the story I was writing. Still, it was a great experience to know that I wasn't alone in wanting to write, that there were tons of people out there with as many ideas as I had. This last November though, I won. I topped the fifty thousand mark and as a result I won a free copy of my manuscript.
I was excited beyond belief and knew that the one I had just written would never be polished in time for this hardcopy I was most definitely going to order. So I chose the book that was my first story, edited it like a maniac right after Christmas, and ordered it just a few weeks ago. When it came in the mail this past Tuesday and I saw the product of three years of writing and re-writing, editing and all that frustration sitting on the kitchen table, its cover a glossy black with my name on it - well, it made everything worth it.
It is most definitely a hard thing to work so long on something with virtually nothing to show for it, people begin to wonder what it is that you are wasting your time on. But if this is what you love to do, don't stop. Follow your heart, follow your dreams, and be happy. Don't let money or living in a small town stop you because, if you set your mind to it, you can do anything. Look at me, nineteen years old, working at a restaurant, and yet here I am, holding the first copy of my book in my hands. And there will be more, because I already have people asking for it. So whatever you do, don't stop doing what you love.