The journey has begun. I’ve decided to take action on a goal that I have set aside and neglected for years. I’ve always wanted to write a book. I’ve debated as to whether it would be instructional in an area related to my career (software development), or would I have the courage to try what I have wanted to do for a long time and write a fictional novel.

A few months ago, I began researching software for writers as well as watching and learning from other authors’ processes and what works best for them. I’ve settled on using Scrivener on my MacBook, and creating this website with its initial content is essentially my last justifiable action that I can take to spend my time working inside my comfort zone. As I finish writing this, all of my filibustering and procrastination will have to become a thing of the past, and I’ll be forced to leave the familiar and attack my candidly daunting goal head on.

I’m both nervous and excited by the opportunity to create my own story and bring it to life. It’s also a bit scary to be vulnerable and spend time creating what I hope will be enjoyed by many while knowing that it’s inevitable that no matter what I produce, it’s not possible to please everyone. I plan to remind myself throughout the journey that no matter where it leads and how it turns out, I’m doing this for myself with the ultimate hope that others enjoy it as well. But I’ll never know unless I try, and so I must try.

I’m excited for the experience, and hope that in the end, regardless of what happens, I will learn and grow through the process. And so off I go to try to bring a dream to life and write a story uniquely my own. And, if I’m lucky, I’ll love the highs of the process while enduring and persisting through the lows. And if I’m really lucky, others will enjoy the result. Perhaps it will go that way and I’ll find myself starting the process all over again to create a second book. But before I get ahead of myself, I’m off to an eerily unfamiliar place to see if a labor of love can make a goal into a reality.

I’ve waited long enough. Here I go …