Dear Writing Diary Entry #22

Autumn Morning Musings

November 27^th, 2024

In this entry, I reflect on my favorite things about the autumn season, and how this time of year brings up memories of my writing journey over the last decade.

*Reminder: If you would like to read and review a free advanced copy of my debut fantasy THE FATED, you can apply here. Those selected to receive an advanced copy will also receive a free short fantasy story as well as some fun graphic artwork I created.

Dear Writing Diary,

There’s just something magical about the Autumn season. Perhaps it’s the cooling weather and changing leaves as well as the promise of much anticipated holidays around the corner.

Some of my favorite fall things are the following:

1) Favorite fall tv show: Guardian, the Lonely and Great God (one of my favorite kdramas and tv shows ever!)

2) Favorite autumn drink: any kind of latte, but especially vanilla, mocha, and matcha

3) Favorite autumn reads:

-Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

-The Secret History by Donna Tartt

-The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

-Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young

4) Favorite fall accessories:

-Mugs full of steaming coffee or tea

-Soft and cozy sweatshirts

-Aesthetic book totes for my book shopping sprees

For me this time of year also means taking a break from big cities to travel back to my midwestern rural origins and spend happy times with my family and loved ones. Being back in the place I grew up inevitably brings back memories of my writing over the last decade. I remember each triumph and failure with a sudden crispness that matches the fall air.

Amongst the shelves packed with my favorite books I stayed up reading too late on school nights are journals full of the first unfinished manuscripts I wrote. One of my later books that received dozens of literary agent rejections is stuffed in a dusty drawer at the corner of my bedroom, forgotten by everyone but me. A short story I wrote spans across a handful of pages of my high school’s literary magazine, which sits untouched at the edge of my desk. When I glance over these words I wrote years ago, each at a different point in my life, I can’t help but reflect on how far I’ve come since then...and how far I still plan to go to achieve my dream.

Except now, my dream of being a published author is no longer a distant and abstract idea like some shining castle on a cloud, destined to swoop in and rescue me away from reality. Now, important details that were drastically lacking previously have begun to fill themselves in. My expectations have shrunk in some areas but also evolved in others. If my dream can still be compared to a castle in the clouds, then the walls do not shine as brightly as they once did, but they now are made of stronger material. If the cloud on which the castle sits grows a little too thin, then perhaps the structure now has a few propellers to keep it in the air until a sturdier cloud drifts its way.

Autumn mornings spent revising my latest project like I did earlier today are the true essence of what will make my dream a reality. Mornings and nights when I could sleep in or do other things but choose to write or make publishing plans instead are what will ultimately form the foundation for my writing career. So for now, even though it’s getting late, after I finish this diary entry, I will sneak in a little more writing. I will do the same tomorrow morning before much of the world wakes, and I will sneak more writing in tomorrow night. It is in these quiet but productive moments after all that the true magic of writing and dreaming most often takes place.

Here's to seeing what other writing adventures this autumn season holds.
-K

P.S. Whoever’s reading this, if you’ve enjoyed these glimpses into my writing life, could you please hit the subscribe button? I would love to share more of my writing journey with you in the future. :)