Your Writing Journey: Guest Post - Kaitlyn Hall

What do you write? 
I write mostly YA fiction, with some dabbling in short stories and poetry.

How long have you been writing?
Just this side of forever!  I started out drawing out stories and explaining them in great detail to anyone who would listen.  I was also a very dramatic child, improvising my own stories to my adoring fans (uncles, grandparents, etc).  Then I learned this wondrous art of forming letters to make words that grew into sentences, then paragraphs...you get the picture.  That was about age 5.  And I've been going ever since! 

What got you started?
My grandmother encouraged my creativity my whole life.  She taught me how to write before I started school (which, by the way, caused NO END of grief from my peers when I started kindergarten...and never stopped until I was out of High School!!!).  My nana and I were inseparable for most of my life and I owe a lot to her.


A Few important lessons you have learned along the way:

• Never, never, never, never, NEVER give up.  Distractions, discouragement, writer's block, everything that life throws at you can make you just want to give up and quit.  But I can't give up.  I can't quit.  Writing is my life-blood.  When I stop, my life ceases to have meaning and importance.  It's what I was born to do, whether I make any money at it or not, I will ALWAYS write.  
• If I am meant to become successful, published, rich and famous, whatever, it will happen in its own good time.  Patience is key.
• Surrounding yourself with support is vital.  I'm a very emotionally needy person, always looking for reassurance, and having a support system keeps me going.
• I love, love, love my alphas and betas.  I would not survive without them.
• Write what you love.  If you don't love your MS, story, poem, article, whatever, it won't love you back.

What priority writing is in your life at the moment?I would love to say that writing is my number one priority in life.  I would love for that to be true.  But having a roof over my head, food in my belly, bills paid, reliable transportation all seem to shove their way to the front of the line.  I work in education, so my schedule is pretty set in stone, but it also means that I have set blocks of free time to devote to writing, and I use them to their full advantage.  Sometimes I spend entire weekends or holiday vacations holed up in a room, typing away madly.  So, I guess the answer to that question is my day job seems to be my number one priority at them moment, but writing comes at a close, close second.

Is it a hobby, career, potential career?
I would say that writing is more than a hobby, but definitely less than a career at the moment.  Most definitely a potential career.  I have to write.  When I don't, I feel like I'm going to burst, characters, poems, story ideas all spinning around in my brain, clamoring for attention.  If I don't write, I really will go mad.  It's not a hobby, because hobbies are optional activities.  Writing is not optional.  But it's not a career, because I've yet to make any money on anything I've written (with the exception of a few writing competitions in school).  So, definitely a potential career.

Can you see yourself writing for the rest of your life, regardless of financial / popular success?
Most definitely.  See the above ramble, so I don't incessantly repeat myself.  ;)

Anything else you may want to add:NaNoWriMo is one of the best exercises in commitment and practice a writer can have.  DO IT!!!  (Shameless NaNo promo (; )
Check out my really cool, if sadly neglected (need. home. internet. access!!!) blog: http://kaitywrites.blogspot.com