Writing...The Long Walk

You know the book. Stephen King’s first novel, later published under the name Richard Bachman. The contestants walk at four mph until there’s only one left. The winner gets anything he wants. The losers…well, they don’t keep walking.

Today I’m feeling like a walker.

I remember when I first started blogging; I was so fresh, so eager, so excited. I set up a Twitter account. I started sharing my thoughts. And followers came. I reached out to other bloggers, unsullied writers seeking the same interaction. We were a collection word walkers, some farther along the trail than others, all seeking to stay ahead of the pace and claim the ultimate prize. We entered contests and shared stories. I emailed a few almost daily we shared passages and encouragement.

That was two years ago.

Today I still love writing. I enjoy blogging. I enjoy twitter. Many of the other writers are gone, though. Some announced their lives had changed and they wouldn’t be updating any social networks regularly, only to slowly fade away; others posted great writing advice one day, then nothing…silence.

And I’m still writing.

It feels different. Quiet. Maybe I took a wrong turn and am on a different road. Perhaps everyone left me in the dust and I’m a straggler. I don’t know. But like the book where the walking never seems to end, here I am. Still writing, still walking. I read somewhere that a professional author is an amateur that didn’t quit. I’m not quitting. I love writing too much. That’s why I’m here.

If you are out there writing and creating—I salute you. We share the same road. You, like me, are a walker. You’re still there, dreaming and working toward the future.