Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Guest Author: Amy Ratcliffe, Geek With Curves

For the third month in a row, I'm happy to present a guest post by a local writer. Today, meet Amy Ratcliffe.
I love her story. She wanted to be a writer. She thought about it. Then she decided to make it happen and bam! 
I think you'll like Amy as much as I do.
My name is Amy Ratcliffe. I'm a geek (that will be relevant in a minute). For most of my life I said I wanted to be a writer. However, I didn't do much to make that dream happen. I wrote as often as I felt like it in my writing notebook, and if you only write when you feel like it, the notebook doesn't fill up very fast. I participated in National Novel Writing Month a couple of times and actually defeated it once. I started blogging and realized it was fun to get feedback on the words I was putting out there. But I didn't know how to translate any of this to making my dream happen.

Then I was watching Star Wars for the nth time in January of last year, and I thought to myself: why not create a blog just for discussing your favorite geeky things?  So I started Geek With Curves. I signed up for Twitter around the same time. This started a new chapter (pun entirely intended) for me. I made myself sit down and write every day whether I felt like it or not. I started making connections. I also found a huge geek community on Twitter. People that didn't judge me for reading comic books or dressing up like Han Solo.

Through these people, I found writing work. Slowly but surely I am building a list of sites that are happy to accept articles about the politics in Game of Thrones or the female role models in The Clone Wars. I contribute to websites such as Tor.com, ScienceFiction.com, and the L.A. Times Hero Complex. I am doing what I love. A talented artist I know always tells people, "Don't tell me how bad you want it, show me." This is the phrase I keep in mind when I've had a long day at work and don't feel like sitting in front of a blank screen. I don't sleep as much I'd like, I definitely don't watch as much television as I want to, but I hope the sacrifices will be worth it when I'm doing what I love to do full time. And I believe I'll get there. Eventually.

15 comments:

Italo said...

I'm happy for you Amy, that your dream comes true. I have your same passion, writing, and I know what this means.
Thank you Petra for that post!

Patrizzi Intergarlictica said...

Amy is absolutely charming, and other worldly.

Shell Sherree said...

Dear Amy, outstanding talents aside, your work ethic and dedication are wonderful. You inspire me and remind me of that expression, "The harder I work, the luckier I become." You'll make it. Of this, I'm positively sure.

Katie said...

Amy it sounds like you're well on your way to a very successful writing career. So wonderful that you've found a way to do something that really interests you. I really admire your dedication to writing, you really are an inspiration. Keep up the great work!

Petrea Burchard said...

Amy really is an inspiration. Amy, you rock! I also had no idea how Twitter could be used until I saw you use it. And I love how you decided not only to write, but what you wanted to write about. It's hard to get excited to write about stuff that doesn't interest you.

Susan Campisi said...

Congratulations, Amy, on following your dream and making it a reality. I agree with everyone here that you're an inspiration. To be honest, your story gives me a kick in the butt - and that's a good thing. Thank you! And thank you, Petrea, for another great post.

TheChieftess said...

Very inspirational and right on Amy!!!

John Sandel said...

The harder you work, the closer you get to your goal. Keep it up & you'll become a Geek With Asymptotic Curves …

Petrea Burchard said...

Yes, Susan, a kick in the butt! Now I must get to work.

Ditto, Chieftess.

J, a new word! Let's name our next pet Asymptote.

Bellis said...

You'd get weird looks when you're calling for your pet in the park. "Asymptote, where are you?" Sounds more like the name for a toad.

Amy, you have a great blog. And I love the photo!

Petrea Burchard said...

I didn't say our next pet wouldn't be a toad.

Steven said...

You GO Girl With Curves !!! I like you already. The world is your oyster and you will certainly leave lots of pearls in your wake. I'm happy for you.

Ms M said...

I enjoyed reading your story, Amy, and checking out your blog!
And Petrea, thank you for giving space to some great people!

Amy said...

Thank you all for the kind and encouraging words! I'm not gonna fib, I was sort of hoping that it would turn out that hard work isn't the trick. Unfortunately, that seems to be the biggest part of it. Rats!

Petrea Burchard said...

Yes, Amy, you GO! You've inspired a lot of people today. And Ms. M, you're welcome, but I can't tell you what a pleasure it is for me to host these guest posts. So far it's only been once a month but I hope to do more.

Rats is right, Amy. But at least now we know what separates the winners from the--well, from the ones who don't win. Thanks for coming by and showing us how it's done.