Description:

Listen in for a quick peak at what to expect with the Diary of a Writer podcast!

Transcript:

Hello and welcome to the Diary of a Writer podcast. I’m Lexie, the host and writer in question. As the title suggests, I am a writer sharing my experiences as I try to become a published author. I also share a few tips and tricks I’ve learned along the way. And, hopefully I’ll also get to hear from you, listener, my fellow writers. So, get cozy, relax, and enjoy. I hope I can help you on your writing journey and that we can commiserate in all the ups and downs that come with being a writer and chasing your dreams.

Description:

Dear Listener, it's me, Lexie! It's great to have you. This episode is an introduction to both the podcast and myself. I go through some of my experiences as a writer just starting out to how I got to where I am now. I'm still an aspiring author, but hopefully, together we can all reach our writing goals.

One of the main reasons I created this podcast is to create a community of writers. So please don’t be afraid to interact with the pod. Write a review and send in questions, and if you want to keep up to date with the podcast then feel free to follow us on Instagram @diaryofawriterpodcast.

Transcript:

Intro :

Dear listener,

Hello and welcome to the Diary of a Writer’s podcast. My name is Lexie and I’m the writer in question. It’s nice to have you here, whether you’re a fellow writer or a curious observer. I’m here to talk you about all things involved in writing. The challenges, the successes and everything in between. Let’s struggle through our writing journey’s together on this episodic adventure. So please, relax and enjoy...

Main:

Welcome to the first ever episode of the Diary of a Writer podcast. I’m so happy to finally be doing this. I’ve recently wanted to have some kind of format to talk about writing but I was stuck between blogging, YouTubing (if that’s a word), and podcasting. Obviously, I ended up going with podcasting and I chose it because I feel like it’s super accessible (as I hope to reach and interact with other writers) and hopefully the most fun :P I guess we’ll have to wait and see about that.

You know, it’s taken me a long time to call myself that. A writer. To me, a writer was always someone who got paid for their work. Essentially a professional writer, but over years I learned that you don’t have to be a professional writer to call yourself a writer. You don’t have to have written dozens of poems or thousands of words. If you like to write then you are a writer. Or at least, that’s the philosophy I like to follow.

Anyway, I thought I would start this podcast with a little introduction. As I said, my name is Lexie. I am a writer and an aspiring published author. I chose to make this into a podcast because I personally love listening to podcasts and I love writing, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to bring those two interests together. More than that, though, when I was looking for a podcast about writing to listen to, I didn’t find one that I really vibed with. Some were too serious or didn’t have the kind of information that I was looking for. So, just as many other writers have done, I decided to create something that I myself was looking for. I wanted a way to bring writers together. To hopefully create a community for writers to share their stories and challenges when it comes to writing. And I wanted to share my own experience with writing to hopefully help others going through their own journey.

It took me a long time to really pursue writing. It was never the main goal for me. It was more like a hobby. Which, of course, is perfectly fine. Most people who love to write have it as a hobby, which is great! In my case, though, it was always something I wanted to pursue professionally. I was just afraid to do it. To put all of my eggs in one basket. There are so many fears that come with doing that. Worries about not being good enough. Not being successful. Not being financially sustainable.

The good thing about writing though is that you don’t need much to get started, theoretically. You just need an idea, some time, and somewhere to record your words. Again, all of these, theoretically, are easy. It’s not always the case of course, and we’ll talk about more of these challenges in upcoming episodes.

My start with writing, though, was relatively simple. At fifteen, I was already a huge reader. I was obsessed with a lot of 2000s classic YA, like Twilight, Hunger Games, Percy Jackson (which is technically middle grade), The Mortal Instruments, Perks to Being a Wallflower, and the list goes on and on. However, I didn’t think about writing my own piece until my ninth grade English teacher gave us a creative writing assignment. I think I ended up writing about a pair of teenagers who find that their neighbors have built some kind of monster in their basement. Kind of Frankenstein-esque. That’s all I really remember about it, but it was enough to get me started.

I don’t know why I never really thought to write before then, but once I started it opened my mind to a bunch of different ideas. Suddenly, the book that I was always hoping to read was attainable. I wouldn’t really be able to read it, but I could create the story. So that’s what I did. I wrote the first few chapters of my first book. Every now and then I would add a little more. Take a break. Come back to it. Completely change it. Write a bit more. Then take another break. I never got past the first few chapters. I had an idea, but for some reason I was just stuck.

Then, later when it was time to start applying to college, I started looking for schools where I could major in both neuroscience and creative writing. At the time, my goal was to be a pre-med student, but I didn’t want to give up on creative writing just yet. So, that’s what I did. I found a liberal arts school with an open curriculum where I majored in Biology (instead of neuroscience) and minored in creative writing, all whilst being a pre-med student.

College was a great way to get me writing more than I had before. Not only did I end up with a portfolio of pieces that came from assignments, but I also got to meet other writers and read their work. One of my favorite parts about creative writing classes was being able to read other people’s work. It’s fun and inspiring seeing the way different people approach storytelling, and it’s super helpful getting their advice on how to make your story better. Between the class and a creative writing club we had on campus, I was writing more than ever.

Going to school for something you’re passionate about is great, and if you have the opportunity to do it, I highly suggest it. However, it’s not a necessity. You can achieve the same experience through local classes, creative writing clubs, or even with friends who share the same interest. And of course, if you can’t find any of those, you always have books. Reading can also give you a lot of guidance when it comes to writing. Read the kind of books that you want to write. Read books that you wouldn’t normally go for to get a different perspective. And read books about writing! There are so many good ones out there. I mean, of course, I’m also here to help and clearly I know everything as an aspiring author making her very first podcast. Who else do you need really? But on the very slim chance that I don’t know something that you want to know more about, here are few books that I’ve either read or been recommended to read. Mooring Against the Tide by Jeff Knorr and Tim Schell, and Thrill Me by Benjamin Percy are two that I found really helpful when I was in school. The first one is especially good if you like to write both fiction and poetry. Then there’s On Writing by Stephen King, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, and Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. Stephen King’s is supposed to be very good for fiction writing, and the other two are good for artists in general. The Artist’s Way also acts as somewhat of a workbook as it gives you tasks to work on every week.

Anyway, to get back on track, college was great for expanding my writing skills as well as meeting others going through similar journeys. I also ended up rewriting the book I had started in high school. Rereading what I had written as a teenager after taking a few creative writing classes really made me realize how bad my writing was before, but hey, we all have to start somewhere.

After college, I went to graduate school for Stem Cell Biology, so nothing really to do with writing there, but I spent every spare minute working on my book, and by the end of my master’s I finished with the first draft. From that point, I decided to officially take a break from science and focus on writing. It had taken me a long time to realize, but medicine and scientific research were not for me.

I graduated the summer of 2020, which was the perfect time to move back home and take a break with academics. Instead I focused on writing for two years, working on my book and writing a couple of novellas, until finally I decided to take the leap and apply to graduate school again, this time for a master’s in creative writing, which is where I am now.

It was a long road with many twists and turns, but I am happy about where I ended up. It wasn’t easy, and for some of you it might end up being easier or harder, who’s to say? But hopefully, it’s also worth it in the end, whether your picking up a pencil for the first time to start your first novel (or more realistically hitting strokes to fill up a dauntingly empty word doc), or joining a writing club, or about to take a class in creative writing. I hope you enjoy it and that it’s worth it in the end.

I am still editing my novel and I’ve worked on a few other pieces in the mean time. All of this is to say that I’ve had a lot of ups and downs when it comes to writing. I’ve had writer’s block, as I’m sure every writer has had. I’ve had issues with staying motivated. Doubting whether I’m good enough. Whether I made the right choice to pursue writing. All of it can be very overwhelming and daunting. The main thing that helps is knowing that you’re not alone. That other writers, or even artists in general, are going through the same thing. *Most have had these same thoughts and they have only gotten as far as they have because they never gave up. I hope that this podcast can help you keep going, dear listener, and let you know that you’re not alone. That I’m in the same boat as you, and that, hopefully, over time we can build a community of writers that can support one another on this journey.*

So, yeah, that’s me. I hope you enjoyed this episode, learning a little bit about me and my experience. And I would love it if you would share your experiences as well in the comments. Also, please let me know if you have any specific issues or questions you would like me to cover. I’m no expert by any means, but I hope that I can at least help a little by sharing my experiences with you along with any knowledge I do have on the subject. Thank you for listening and once again, welcome to the Diary of a Writer podcast! Let’s have some fun :)

Outro:

If you’ve made it this far into the podcast, thank you! I really appreciate you taking the time to give this podcast a listen. As I’ve mentioned before, one of the main reasons I created this podcast is to create a community of writers. So please don’t be afraid to interact with the pod. Write a review and send in questions if you want. Tune in next week for a new episode, where we’ll venture into the curse that is Writer’s Block.

If you’re thinking, hm, this was really nice to listen to, but everything was pretty general and I need more specific feedback, then don’t you worry. It’s coming!

In the mean time, if you want to be updated on what’s going on with the pod please feel free to follow the podcast on Instagram, our handle is @diaryofawriter. And if you have a friend or someone you know who might be interested in this podcast, please let them know. Word of mouth really helps when it comes to podcasting. And also please give us a rating and a comment on whatever platform you are using.

Thanks again for listening and I’ll see you next time!

Your Friend,

Lexie