The Write Thing

Joanne Kathleen Rowling always loved to write. She wanted to become a writer, but did not think she would get a publisher to be interested. She had no publishing credits, no insider knowledge, no friends in the industry.

J. K. Rowling first conceived of the idea about Harry Potter in 1990. It was on a four-hour-delayed train trip where she began to create the characters in her mind. When she reached her flat, she began writing immediately.

However, it would take several years to come to fruition. In 1991, she got a job as an English teacher in Portugal, where she met her first husband. But after a couple of years, the couple split. So she returned to England in 1994, still trying to finish her first book. In 1995, she finished her manuscript of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. She found an agent who spent over a year trying to get a publisher. A small publishing house, Bloomsbury, agreed to take the book on. And the rest is history. To date, she is the best-selling author in the history of literature.

As you can see, J.K. Rowling didn’t always know she will create one of the most famous books of her time. But every journey begins with a single step.

Maybe you have always wanted to become a writer, but feel uncertain how to begin. How about starting with something small? You can always try small freelance jobs. Write articles and provide content for websites. Write for various online journalism sites. Write and sell 100-page ebooks.

But wait, do not just write. Always try to be a better writer. Your next article, story or poem may be better than the last one, so sharpen your writing skills. Here are some things that will get you on the road to improvement.

Read. Voraciously. Read anything you can get your hands on. Listen to audio books when you’re driving or commuting. Read the works of good and bad writers. Determine what is good writing and what is not. Take note of the author's style. Even when you are already creative and talented, there will always be a thing or two that you may emulate from the masters.

Practice makes perfect. Write whenever, wherever. Keep a journal handy and keep the writing juices flowing. Scribble notes and fleeting ideas. Write down snippets of conversation that you hear. When you’re not writing for money, just write for the sake of writing. Create a blog. Write your own blog with something that you are interested in and something that others are interested in. Even letters, emails and long text messages are opportunities to practice writing. Express your thoughts and emotions.

Build your vocabulary. You are bound to be more expressive when you have a wide vocabulary. When you write, use carefully chosen words that flow naturally. Convey the precise shade of meaning you have in mind. Get acquainted and make friends with the dictionary. One caveat though: do not let highfalutin words trick you into thinking you are a good writer just because you use such words. Make your work a pleasure to read but be accurate and easy to understand.

Do not just write for yourself; think about your audience. Change your writing genre for your audience just as you change your clothing for the weather or the occasion. Keep in mind the impact your work will have on the group of people who will read them. Put yourself in your reader's head. Taylor your writing to a purpose. Find a niche. Entertain, teach, solve a problem or fill a need. Learn about what sells in your market. Be the best that you can be in the field that you choose. Certainly, the client's, publisher’s or editor’s opinion matters, but you can work your way into them by thinking of the readers first.

Don’t let anything stop you. Persevere. Sometimes there will be an idea in your head and you will not have the words to write it down with. You will remember your terror English teacher and how you went through your Formal Theme Number 1 way back 5th grade. Don’t tense up. Just Relax. Allow yourself to make a crappy first draft. Write terrible prose and poetry. Go back and revise. Or throw it away and start over.

Which brings me to the next tip: know how to edit and proofread. However much time you took in writing your first draft, you will always find mistakes to correct when your read it again. Brush up on grammar. Do not break any rule unless you have a very good reason. Get rid of dangling modifiers and double negatives. Kill clunky sentences. Make your work clear, correct and complete. If you write drunk, edit sober. Editing your own work is an important part of writing. Do not depend on computer programs because there isn't one that will make your work totally free of errors. For instance, a spell checker will identify mistakes on spelling but it will not catch real words that are used inappropriately. A language software will not identify all grammatical and stylistic inconsistencies in your work. Some writers hate editing because it can be cumbersome. However, if you want to be a good writer, you need to edit and proofread.

If you do decide to go ahead and write a book, and you do finish one, introduce yourself to publishers. Ask someone you know to introduce you to an editor. Send an email or letter.

Consider getting an agent, just like J.K. Rowling did.

Good luck and keep on pecking at that keyboard.

Histamine Antagonist

Everything is still.

After weaving in and out of sleep, moaning, cursing the anti-histamine, twisting in my sheets, jabbing at my phone to distract myself--all at once I am calm. It’s midnight and everything is still. Something about the fullness of silence makes find the strength within myself to accept my illness. This is the sickest I've been for the longest time but soon I will recover and get out of the hospital.

The room is half-lit: only one of the two fluorescent lights are on, and the semi-darkness suits me. I touch the rashes on my skin and thankfully it's not so bad anymore. It's a miracle. Because every single day for the past week I have helplessly dreaded the onset of rashes late in the afternoon or early at night.

I dread the shots of Benadryl that burn my veins. The first time they injected me with the medicine I felt like I was going to pass out. It was as if there was not enough oxygen in the air and it was difficult to breathe. My body felt heavy and I thought I didn't have the strength to move. But by some force I was able to bring myself to the restroom to throw up. I told one of the doctors that Benadryl makes me vomit but he simply told me I may have associated it with nausea since I puked the first time I took the medicine. He did not seem worried but they never really do. I guess I'm sensitive to the drug. I would feel sedated a minute after taking it intravenously. Although my thoughts were clear, it would take some effort voicing responses when someone is talking to me.

When the effect of the Benadryl wears off, the itching starts all over again. At any rate, I need to discipline myself and ignore the itching because when an area of skin is scratched, that same area becomes even itchier, leading to more scratching. It's an annoying cycle.

The doctor where I work at said that I had Stevens–Johnson syndrome, which is a fatal allergic reaction to drugs and microorganisms. I literally did not believe him. But I followed his advice anyway and had myself admitted to the hospital.

There is no official epidemiology yet, but now more than ever I am certain that whatever allergy I have is not life-threatening. Still, it's almost disappointing how I could not help the doctors figure out the cause of my allergy. I could not accurately recall what I ate the day before the rashes appeared. It's odd, I suppose, that my sharpest memory should be how I felt the night before being sick. I clearly remember being too sleepy to eat supper. I went to bed early. I was irritated by the bed sheets and the clothes that I was wearing, as if I wanted nothing but silk to touch my skin.

I am grateful that I am in much better shape right now than I was five or six days ago when I was feeling so horrible that I was in tears. I must be on the healing track. Or am I merely getting accustomed to the itching? I know that habituation can make physical symptoms bearable.

Could I finally be healing?

It's midnight and I am calm. Lying in bed, I look up at the ceiling. I stare at the IV and every drop of dextrose, as if in a trance. I am intensely and sharply conscious of my being, of everything surrounding me. Yet, strangely enough, I am equally aware of feeling separated, unattached. I feel suspended, yearning for the next day to come. How many more seconds? How many more minutes? Hours? Until I'm finally sure my body is healing...