My Writer’s Journey: From Stuck to Soaring

I’m off and (self) publishing — nothing can hold me back!

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Photo by 愚木混株 cdd20 on Unsplash

For the past two years, I’ve been working on a novel — a project that consumed my heart and mind. I was knee-deep in writing, convinced it was ready. But then came the critique. It wasn’t just any critique; it was scathing yet accurate, challenging me to rethink the entire flow of my book. I tried to resequence it, but I got stuck. I was blocked.

Change comes when the present is too painful!

Desperate to push through, I decided it was time to get an agent because, apparently, that’s what I needed to move forward. I sent out queries, received kind rejections, and sometimes just silence. It wasn’t what I expected, but strangely, it was exactly what I needed.

Then: the life of writer and M.K. Williams and Sean Dollwet and Self Publishing Central and…

After weeks of watching videos and seeking motivation, my muse whispered: “Just start… do it yourself, Scarlet.” The idea was incepted.

Instead of wrestling with my stuck novel, I would compile the short stories I’d written over the past two years on…