LEGACY
The Things I
Want to Leave Behind
When I wrote and
released my first novel "Water Flows Under Doors," I really just
wanted to see if the professor of my Fiction Workshop in college, Leo Hamalian,
was right about how talented he believed I was. I never graduated from college
but I was damn sure determined to finish writing the novel that I started in
his class.
Now that I’ve just
self-published my 10th novel, written a ton of articles &
essays, had dozens of stories published in anthologies, what I want is much
different than when what I first started out. My “Why” is not the same as it
once was. Of course, as a full-time author, the goal is ALWAYS to keep the
bills paid and the family taken care of but there’s also something bigger that
I have my eyes on. I have enough plots for novels written down in my “little
black idea book” to keep me busy well into my twilight years which is a beautiful
thing. I’ve also come to terms with the reality that I might never be
recognized for the books that I’m currently writing during my lifetime.
However, that won’t stop me from writing them. Long after I’m gone, my goal is
to have enough books written and published that the royalties can take care of
my children. I hope to have dozens of unpublished, completed novels that they
can release themselves, or seek publishers for. When I was working a regular
9-5, the only thing I had to leave behind was the money from my life insurance
policy. Now, I’m thinking about leaving behind a real legacy because whether
I’m here physically or only in spirit, I never want to leave my children alone
or on their own. That is the “Why” that keeps me up all night writing.
“I’m too far gone on
the path I’m on to accept or tolerate things that I don't want, or need in my
immediate circumference. I’m fully committed and focused on the future I want
for the people I love.”- Keith Kareem Williams
Now that is a legacy!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you.
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