Kurt Frenier | Life & Books

GUEST BLOGGER

Zvezdana Rashkovich

On several occasions in the past, in this blog, I have mentioned the "pain of publishing" (see http://kurtfrenier.webs.com/apps/blog/show/4596487-the-pain-of-publishing). Everyone in the "industry" knows that getting your book to the market can be a more than difficult experience. But as the saying goes: when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

I invited a friend & (new) author of mine, Zvezdana Rashkovich (or in short: Dana), to write a piece on her experiences lately. She just published, after a hard and long journey, her first ever novel called "DUBAI WIVES". The title alone grabs the attention; imagine what the story will be like!

Her piece is titled "the evolution of a writing". I believe that that is exactly the right wording... as a writer, to become an author, you "evolve". And as Dana says, writing is a labor of love. It is.

One thing to add though: the endresult is satisfying. The sense of accomplishment is great, and that lingers on for a very very long time.

So here's today's guestblogger Dana:

"The evolution of a Writer"

 

So you want to be a writer do you?

 

Then prepare yourself for skepticism, raised eyebrows and a lot of work.

 

Those around you, even loved ones, will question your decisionto become a writer at first. They will brush it off good-naturedly with acompassionate smile as if it was just another whim of fancy that will or might pass.

 

Then as days, weeks even years pass with you hunched over the computer or laptop, sometimes with a pen held feverishly in hand,things start to change.

The permissive grins and nods might become expressions of admiration...possibly even belief that yes, this right here...might just possibly be a writer.

 

For those who would want to spend numerous long nights agonizing over character, plot and dialogue, mind spinning and churning. Who else would peruse the thesaurus as if it was his or hers most cherished book. Who would want to deal with all the intricacies and pitfalls of the English language, the grammar...the qualifiers...the synonyms and the POVs (Points of View).

 

Only someone with a fire in his or her belly would. Someone with a love for that enticingly and forever elusive Perfect word, Sentence or Paragraph. Someone with a mad glint in their eye and an unquenchable thirst, insatiable hunger of Writing.

 

As you write pouring your soul, your heart...bursting forth into the rolling pages...sometimes soaked with tears sometimes with laughter...it changes your very self.

It changes who you are at the core.

 

The yearning...the craziness of it all...the beauty will consume most of your waking moments.

 

They say everyone can write. Only those with a passionate, gnawing...burning yearning will become true writers.

. . .

My own journey began early. As a child, I pored over the Encyclopedia and attempted to outline short stories set in my home town ofOsijek in Croatia. Endless fields of swishing cornfields and swaying sunflowersof the idyllic Croatian countryside further inspired me to pen whimsical poemsand dramatic essays.

Later, as my grasp of language grew I swooned over thewritten words of Hemingway, Flaubert, Shakespeare, Sienkiewicz, Zagorka, Andricand other European and Balkan authors. An endless world of possibility extendedin front of me and I yearned to recreate it even in some minute way.

Throughout my early teens, while I lived in Libya, Iraq,and the Sudan, I wrote YA novels and reread them proudly to my mother... my staunchest supporter. The novels still exist in my drawer, frayed and yellowedstacks of notebooks.

Decades passed. I was married, moved to the United States then Qatar, and later relocated to Dubai.

As I raised four children, attended college, worked as alegal and medical interpreter in the USA, got older and hopefully wiser…that old yearning still existed inside me. It flickered on and off like a neon sign at the back of my mind. Waiting.

When my oldest left for college, I took the plunge, got a new computer and desk, and settled them by the window. Then, just like that, over night it seemed…I started writing a novel.  

The process was exhilarating but riddled with awkward,tricky obstacles of which I was not previously aware. To write a ‘first’ full-lengthnovel was no easy task and a miraculous learning process. Compounded with a busylife…children, husband, and all the other things that fill our existence…it seemed insurmountable. I was faced with those same smirks, the sympathetic nods. Many thought it must be the hormones; the middle age crisis or simplythat I was losing my mind! Those who knew me well though, never doubted me. Encouraged,supported, and loved by my mother, children and husband I plodded on. One word at a time.

I was a product of a multicultural nomadic life…a divided sense of identity…of third culture… and therefore fascinated, inspired by stories and observations of lives changed by place. The intricate threads that bind us and connect us wherever we happen to be on this planet.

My novel ‘Dubai Wives’ is a tender labor of visualizing  such a story, planning, and observing. The characters were born out of a lifetime of immersion in a multicultural society, with Dubai serving as the backdrop. Once I started, there was no turning back.

Every moment of this journey has been amazing. I wouldnot change it for the world.

So keep writing…reach for those dreams…do not let anyone tell you otherwise!

I wish Dana lots and lots of success with her novel. It can be ordered on (amongst others) Amazon.com

Happy writing!

KURT