The person who makes words into stories

Recently, I read a blog post by fellow blogger, AliB where she made the analogy of being a writer to the Roman god, Janus, who faces both ways. With one eye looking outward, and the other inward facing.
And I began thinking about how much of a writer’s time is focused on the actual writing. It makes no difference whether you’ve taken yourself on the journey to self-publication or through a traditional publishing house. It’s a requisite that, as a writer, you will engage in self-promotion.
We’ve all got to start somewhere to forge that balance between writing with the public persona, and the introverted writer - stereotypical as we are! Normally, I’d be busy, tip-tip-tapping at the keyboard, but I’ve realised it’s not possible to get where I’m going if I keep facing in one direction, and here’s the second face. The one with an outward glance.
My writing goals, very much listed in order of importance:

1. Finish re-writing my historical novel. Through several levels of re-constructing, rewriting and editing.
2. Query aforementioned historical novel, before I…
3. Begin [to finish] my series of steampunk short stories, then…
4. Finish rewriting my science fiction novel.

You can see a theme recurring here. Lots of project hopping and not stopping to finish the writing process. And that’s what I intend to fix. Finish and query – an eye in the other direction, (the finishing post), and then I will be the person who makes words into stories.
Of course, there's much more to the public element than just looking toward the end goal, but it's a start, and besides, that's a whole 'nother series of blog posts!

I am writing

As of this morning, this picture really does depict where I am in my writing process: the beginning. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. I've been reading some 'how to' books lately that have made me re-think the whole writing process and the way in which I've written at least two of my long-term endeavours - novels that I've shelved at 50,000 words or more.

I remember writing my first novel. I had no idea what it was to craft a story, and it went a little like this: 'something happened, then this, and then, then, then, then and finally.' Although the imagination was ticking over, technical ability was zilch.

I did a lot of work on that novel, and it was good experience to write and play around with. I think the main thing I learned from that was discipline to sit down and write. I had structure to my writing process, of which there is a lot to be said.... oh, there we are at that dreaded thing we must do if we want to write..

Writing is heaven writing is hell, writing is work.