Writers are wonderful people. They are supportive, inspiring, and empathetic. When one of us gets a “win” we celebrate together. As I gather my thoughts on Writer In Motion for this final post, it’s the relationships I’ve formed that have the most meaning.

Something I’ve come to realize over the course of my journey as a writer is that I cannot edit my own work, at least in its late stages. I lack perspective and get so wrapped up in the details that I lose the big picture. We’re always learning as writers, and I have learned that I need editors.

One of the things I most enjoy about being a writer is the opportunity to give and receive critique. I firmly believe that our work begins to live and breathe when someone else views it and offers feedback.

A killer walked the streets of Marseille, but all Adeline cared about was having a smoke.

It’s time to show the raw and rough edges, friends. Here is the unedited version of my short story for Writer in Motion. After Jeni revealed the prompt last week, I got to work and I’ve been sitting on this ever since. It’s been so hard not to share or revise.

I love the ocean and anything with a maritime theme, so I was super stoked that this prompt would work well with ideas I had been lightly brainstorming in anticipation. A soon as I saw the prompt, I immediately started working on the outline for my short story.

How many times have you read a work of polished and perfected fiction and wondered what the first draft of that piece looked like? I know I have! With Writer In Motion, you’ll see the complete process twelve writers go through to create an original piece of short fiction from beginning to end.

After agonizing over my second draft, rewriting my final two acts, and going through page after page of revisions, I knew it was time to do the thing I was dreading most. It was time to show my manuscript to other people.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the things that hold us back most as writers and creative people. We tend to get stuck in our heads, alone in small rooms, coffee shops, or libraries — ear buds in our ears, trying to drown out the noise while we attempt to create something that resonates with the human condition. Almost all of us are wondering if we’re good enough.