A.J. Antonio

Young Writers: “I Almost Gave Up on Writing”
by A.J. Antonio

“Do you want to write a book?”

This was the question Teacher Rhoda Osalvo asked me in December 2023 and I responded with a confident yes. Thus, I became part of the Book Writers Club (BWC) Batch 5.

Maybe I would have changed my mind if I knew what the future held. But here I am now with my first book, Guts & Grit finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and I couldn’t be happier with myself.

The hardest part about writing is maintaining internal motivation for the project. The initial high I experience when I begin a new project is adrenaline-pumping, but once I start encountering obstacles, frustration can set in, making me lose sight of the bigger picture. Eventually, progress slows down, and I am tempted to give up, tossing the idea aside and starting over. I think this is what they call the “Shiny Object Syndrome.”

When I started Guts & Grit, I was determined to avoid this. I created a plan from start to finish, but I was surprised to find out the detours I would encounter. There were many days when I didn’t feel like writing, and other external factors tried to disrupt my writing time.

Sometimes, if I didn’t have time during the day, I’d work late into the night, up to 2 or 3 a.m. My mom or dad would often peek into my room and wonder why I was still awake, sitting on my desk with the lights off, diligently typing away on my computer.

Whenever my editor requested rewrites, I would often feel discouraged for a few days before I could bring myself to write again. But that’s part of being a writer.

Around the third rewrite, I started to lose hope that my story would ever get published, but I persevered, day in and day out, to create a good story that my readers would enjoy. After all, no self-respecting writer who loves their craft wants to write a boring or clunky story. Giving up felt tempting, but I had already invested too much effort to quit.

Around the fifth rewrite, my story finally received the green light and moved on to the next stage. And it is now available, ready to be read by the world.

My message to writers reading this is: just because your story isn’t as good as you envision it at the start doesn’t mean it can’t get better. Keep writing. Writing isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon. Take it one day, one page, one word at a time. Happy writing!
A.J. Antonio is the author of “Guts & Grit.” Click here to get your copy: https://bit.ly/4c6boTy