Hi all,
If you've been reading my blog for a while then I'm sure you've heard about Street Rats. I originally started writing it in 2021 but I've struggled to get through the first draft. Even with less than 2000 words to write I just couldn't bring myself to do it.
But now, I've done it.
Street Rats is done! The first draft is written and will now sit on the back burner until I edit it. I hope it won't take me years to get the courage to edit it but I'm so glad that I finally managed to get it done.
At the time of writing it, I was being bullied and isolated in my job and it was spilling into my writing. The main character, Hailey, was hated for no reason and the other characters shunned her no matter what she did. Because I was feeling like that in reality, those feelings and scenarios spilled into the book. Even though I knew it was happening, I couldn't stop it. It felt like I was trying to justify the actions of the people around me by writing it in a book. But there was no justification for completely ignoring me for hours on end and making me feel terrible for getting stressed about doing the majority of the work.
Even when I left that job I couldn't bring myself to finish the story. I just kept thinking about how much work it will need editing and how I don't want to revisit those feelings again. I don't know why I suddenly felt like I was able to finish it, but I have. My mental health has never been better and I saw it on my phone one day and just started writing. Now, it's done.
Don't get me wrong, there is still plenty of work to do if I eventually want to publish it. But I love the concept and the world I created. I don't want to let that just sit on a computer for the rest of my life. It might take a bit longer to see this story and I do apologise for that. But getting the first draft done is a huge step and I'm proud of myself for that. I've come to terms with my feelings and what happened to me and I don't feel so bitter anymore. One day I'd love to have this book on a bookshelf next to all my other published works.
That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading. See you next week.
