For years, I wanted to be a writer. I loved words. I loved books. I loved reading. That was, to me, an ideal form of entertainment. And I loved the idea of putting together stories that would entertain other people. But when I sat down to write, it wasn’t fun, and I wouldn’t follow through. Why? Partly because I had mental blocks getting in my way. Partly because I didn’t have the skills I needed to get me where I wanted to go. Partly because I didn’t have people coming alongside me, learning with me, sharing the journey, and encouraging me while I encouraged them.

The fact is, I wanted to have written, but I didn’t even really know what it looked like to actually write.

What did I really want?

For a long time, I quit more than I succeeded. I never really stopped wanting to write, but I wasn’t putting in the time or effort of writing. In some ways I think I was in love with the idea of writing… of being a writer. But I didn’t know how to be in love with the actual writing. It just seemed so overwhelming.

Then I found Holly Lisle, and that all changed. Her classes helped me realize that I was looking at the process of writing in the wrong way. I didn’t know how to set aside my desire for perfect words and sentences and ideas, and just get the story itself written down.

As I worked through How To Think Sideways (affiliate link), I pulled down some of those mental blocks, I began putting in time and effort, and I quit thinking of stories as something passive that I wanted to be entertained by, and started thinking of them as something that I would get more out of creating than I ever had from just reading. I turned up my passion and started working at being a writer. I discovered that some of the stories I knew I would love, hadn’t been written yet. So if I wanted to read them, I was the one who would need to write them.

And, big surprise here, I’m actually doing it. I am a writer. It’s no longer just a dream–it’s my identity. I’m still have things to learn. Every day I’m still met with writing challenges that can be hard. But I can no longer imagine a life in which I’m not writing, because writing is just too much fun.

What do you really want?

Because I’m passionate about writing, I wanted to make sure I let you in on an opportunity. As I said above, Holly Lisle’s writing classes have made a huge difference for me, and I’m always thrilled to be able to share them. However, How To Think Sideways will be closing temporarily later this month, and it won’t be available again for about a year. (No, Holly isn’t being rude or playing coy–she is in the middle of a major website redevelopment, and wants to be sure any recurring payments are finished during the actual changeover when it happens later this year.)

If you think you want to be a writer, or if you’re already a writer and you want to up your game, I would strongly encourage you to consider signing up for this comprehensive writing class before it disappears for a year.

How To Think Sideways (affiliate link) is the perfect class for anyone who is either just starting out in writing, or who has been writing for a while, but doesn’t have a finished novel. This is a comprehensive class that will take you from figuring out where to get an idea, straight through to preparing to submit to a publisher or even self-publishing.

How To Think Sideways is designed to help you build a career writing fiction, if that’s what you want. Obviously, there are no guarantees that your writing will sell, or that you’ll be able to quit your day job anytime soon. But as a professional author with more than 30 published novels, Holly Lisle absolutely knows what it takes to get there, and she will teach you the processes that she uses to get paid to write and publish fiction.

I’m also planning some bonuses for you, if you purchase through my affiliate link. Part of that will be special access to me, in addition to the forums on Holly’s site. I’ll be taking a project through HTTS at the same time that you’re working through it. So you’ll get to see what I’m doing, and I can give you feedback on what you’re doing. I’ll be posting one more time before registration closes, and I’ll give you the details on what you’ll get from me then.

I hope you’ll consider joining me! Follow your dreams, and become the writer you always hoped to be.

Note: links on this page are affiliate links. If you make purchases on the sites linked to, I may receive compensation.

See my first post on Holly’s How To Think Sideways here.