My Announcement and Amazing Weekend

No I am not having a baby, getting married, have a boyfriend, or even going on a date. Sorry to disappoint everyone who read the title of this post and expected my announcement to be something of that sort. It is an announcement, and it is something that is very important to me because it involves the pursuit of my goal and while it will not seem "phenomenal" to some people, I know that the people whose opinions actually matter will understand how valuable and important this is to me. And quite frankly, that's all that matters. :)

This weekend I have had the incredible opportunity to go to Life, the Universe, and Everything, a writer's conference in Provo, UT (for more information about the conference, I have included the link to their website under my "Links" page. Also, anyone that understands that reference, you rock my socks and we totally should get together and have a "42" party. Don't know what that is, but we'll figure it out). This conference was exactly what I needed, both in my writing and for my life in general.

I say life in general because firstly, I was dying to have a break from the tedious monotony of my job. Don't get me wrong, my job is not horrible or in any way a bad job, I just don't get as much joy and excitement out of it as other people. It has been pure heaven to take a break and do something for the past three days that revolves around something I do enjoy, and love more than almost anything else. Well, with the exception of the most important things like God, my family, my friends, and cookies. ;)

Secondly, it provided me with the opportunity to spend time, albeit, only a short amount thus far, with family, something else that I absolutely love. For anyone that doesn't know me personally, or anyone that hasn't read my blog previously, let me tell you that I love my family so, so, SO much! They are all amazing, wonderful, beautiful people and I feel so incredibly blessed to have been born into the family I have!

This next point of why this weekend was awesome ties into the whole family thing but in a different way, so I'm going to call it reason 2.5. After the first panel I went to Thursday morning (which was a discussion about Tolkien's The Hobbit: The Book and the Movies between authors Paul Genesse, Blake Casselman, David Farland, and Tracy Hickman) I had the opportunity to meet Tracy and Laura Hickman. For those who do not know, Tracy Hickman is the author of the Dragon Lance series, and several other books. My brothers and my mom really love the Dragon Lance series, so it was a real honor to meet them.

How does this tie into family? Well, I have known for the years that my family was related to Laura Hickman somehow (a cousin of some sort). When I talked to Laura and told her this, she explained how her father was the oldest of 13 children (my grandfather was the youngest of 13). I told her my grandfather's name and surprise, surprise, she's my mom's 1st cousin! She talked about how she would go camping with my mom's family and how close the two of them were. I felt bad telling her my mom passed away when she asked me how she was doing. Anyways, afterwards when I was saying goodbye she asked if she could give me a hug. Naturally, I said yes, and she told me it was great meeting a cousin. TOTALLY made my day to say the least.

Thirdly, I had the opportunity to listen to a panel called "Mormon Perspectives on Tolkien" and it gave me an incredible, spiritual boost that I really needed. You have to understand, I love, love, LOVE the Lord of the Rings (after seeing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey I have resolved to re-read that book as well, since I had a hard time getting into it the first time and never finished it). It's not just the beautiful and epic story that it contains, or the many intricate details and that there are, in fact, multiple story arcs throughout. It's that the story itself, seeing Frodo and the Fellowship as they go on their journey together and eventually part ways to take on their own personal journeys, is something that I can connect with on a very personal level.

Trials, troubles, loss, and even that despair where you feel like you can never get through it, that there seems to be no way to ever find joy and happiness again, is something that I have faced several times in my life. But then you get to the end and you see that yes, there is hope, there is light, you just have to press on to the end because you're not there yet.

"Everything will be alright in the end. If it's not alright, it's not the end" -Unknown-

Totally, totally, awesome!

Now, that's how the weekend has impacted my life as a person. On to the writer part...

I learned so many things in regards to writing, not only involving story content, but also in regards to publishing and actually making the time in my life to write. There was so much valuable information that I was able to glean from the workshops and panels that I couldn't possibly begin to share all of it with you. If you want the full story, we'll have to have a personal chat. ;)

The point is, and this is where my announcement comes into play, this weekend has built up my will and determination to reach my goal of becoming published and being a successful author. I have made the decision that my writing will no longer be just a hobby, as it has been for so many years. It is going to become an integral part of my life and eventually become my living, my career. I have committed to do all I can to reach that goal.  

In light of this, I have created a new blog page to help keep me on track and to help me be more accountable for reaching that goal. This blog will have a weekly update of where I am at with my project and just the process of it all really. This project may take me months, it may take over a year, but that's not the point. It isn't about how fast I get it done. It's about getting it done, and succeeding.

So, for all of you reading this post, please, please, PLEASE follow me on my new blog page! Even if you just become a follower and never read any of my posts, knowing I have people there to support me and that want me to succeed at this as much as I want to (even if it's just an illusion) will be a huge help to me!

Thank you to all of my readers thus far, and I look forward to this journey ahead!

Blog of an Aspiring Author
www.leblogofanaspiringauthor.blogspot.com