An important part of every writer’s journey is the transition from seeing ourselves as “someone who writes” to seeing ourselves as writers.  We asked all the Go Dog Go Baristas to tell us a little bit about their journey as a writer.  We hope you enjoy learning more about the Baristas and are inspired by their stories.

When you did you start writing?

Lol. Age 4 or 5 on a basic level. But really, as soon as I was 6 or 7 I was writing my own stories. I started journaling in a poetry type format when I was 10 years old and continued that until University where an English prof told me that journaling in the usual sense would improve my writing, so I did a bit with both. I got my BA in English Literature in 2007. At age 23 I had a psychotic episode out of no where. It was a brief episode and I was in hospital 3 week’s. My doctors put me on the right medication and the delusions etc stopped. Then, I had a depressive episode and lost my ability to read more than a page or two, to hand write in my usual manner. And to write how I could in University. I’ve never had a psychotic episode again luckily.

However,  I started blogging to improve my writing back to my university level and then, beyond. I’ve been at it going on 7 years I think. I’ve learned so much from so many other bloggers and from courses both on and off WordPress. I’ve become obsessed with creative writing in a good way.

What kind of writing do you do?

As I developed chronic fatigue from my depressive episode in 2008/2009 I’ve never recovered in the sense that I can work even part time in a regular work environment. But my writing has improved a great deal and I continue to learn and develop it. I do freelance writing as much as possible in academic writing for the humanities, social sciences, art, design, and business. I have done freelance beauty and skincare blogging which is also interesting. On my blog I write all kinds and forms of poetry and short fiction. I do beauty posts, quotes, and things such as that as well. Off it I continue to edit and someday publish a paranormal-romance novel with a fairytale essence to it. I also work on poetry and longer short stories to submit to literary and general writing sites and magazines.

Where do you find inspiration for your writing?

In my friends and family and through observation of people of all ages when I’m out and about. Television and the movies also make me think of ‘what if’ scenarios’ and I read a great deal in romance, mystery, suspense, literary novels, blogs of all kinds, fashion, and beauty, and all kinds of news stories. I do a lot of researching freelancing so that helps as well. My strongest inspiration comes from emotionally charged experiences I think.

What are you current writing rituals/practices? 

Write everyday no matter what. Often creative writing will warm me up or give me peace of mind after freelance work. Sometimes even if I’m so worn out I write all I can when inspired and leave the editing until the next day. Some of my best writing is in the afternoon or late evening. If I feel inspired I stop and write, I have to get it out usable idea or not.

When did you start thinking of yourself as a writer?

When I finished the first draft of my novel a couple of years back. Also, when I took editing courses and learned more about grammar and tools to improve that area. Once that improved I felt a lot more confident.

What are your future writing goals?

Currently, I want to polish and submit a short story developed from an old flash Fiction piece called “Deeper Waters” and than finish the second draft of my novel and work on the third. I need to incorporate better editing procedures and writing programs to organize my novel (and subsequent ones in the series).

I’ve discovered some great writing groups on Facebook that provide great feedback for 500 Words at a time and also answer a lot of writer questions from other writers. Also I have a good friend who is an excellent Beta reader.

I continue to submit poetry on Spillwords.com and wherever I can. My best advice is to polish your writing before submitting. Look at what different online or printed magazines are looking for in a piece of poetry or fiction (their tone and style) first. Then, adapt a piece you have or write a new one for the magazine. Follow their instructions carefully. Subscribing to Submittable is a great way to find out about places to publish your work.