I want to write.
I’ve wanted to write books for as long as I can remember. Short stories have always been my forte. I daydream my life, and imaginary tales, in such great detail that they eventually manifest themselves into reality or stories that I write or live out myself.
I dreamed of traveling the world for so long that throughout my 3-year journey around the world I often felt déjà vu in places I’d never been before. When I left the states my idea was that I would write my life story once the journey ended, because like every 20-something I thought my life was so incredibly exciting that it was book worthy. The problem with writing your life story is that you never feel like its over, and therefore perpetually unready to be written.
When we stopped traveling, settling into a cute, though tiny, modern condo in Bangkok I fell into a slump. It’s difficult for me to describe it as depression, because I’m not qualified to diagnose myself, but it was dark. I couldn’t get out of bed for what seemed like a month. For three years my life revolved around planning the next trip, the next country, the next adventure. So when that was over I felt empty and kind of lost. I’ve shared these feelings on my blog before.
I knew it was time for me to move into the author phase of my life, but after mastering travel it was intimidating to start from scratch on a whole new dream. I couldn’t see how exactly I could make that dream a reality and that discouraged me beyond belief. It was such a dilemma that I was taking it out on everyone around me, especially Jarrell. I couldn’t empathize with his lack of direction or drive, despite experiencing the very same thing myself. I guess I expected him to have it all figured out because he’s a man? I often forgot that he too is human. We were miserable in our new paradise.
In an attempt to brighten my spirits and find some source of escape, I started reading fictional books, specifically erotic romance novels. I read the entire current catalogue of the genre, somewhere close to twenty-five books, in less than a month. I was obsessed.
One day I woke up from a dream, undoubtedly inspired by the books I’d been reading. It was so vivid that I decided to write it out in what would become the first chapter of my own erotic romance novel. My spirit was so lifted, I felt invigorated by this growing passion to daydream the next part of my story and continue to write. It was all I did for at least a week. It was fun. I had no idea where it would lead and refused to allow the accountant part of my brain to question how I’d make money from it. Instead, I just enjoyed the creative process.
Before I knew it I had twenty thousand words written, then fifty thousand. I was a machine. So I sent it to a couple of friends and they loved it. Of course I love my work, and of course Jarrell supports it, but to have my friends like it was an added boost to my confidence. So I decided to share the first four chapters with other writers, another step that was a bit scary, but I said ‘fuck it’ and hit send before I could think of everything that could go wrong.
Almost immediately I heard back from one of the three writers I shared my work with, with praise and a proposal. They wanted me to ghostwrite four erotic romance novels for them. I was flabbergasted. Really? Me?
I took the deal. And then my plan began to develop in my mind. My new dream, as an author, began to materialize in my daydreams and my dilemma of how to get to where I wanted started to diminish.
So I dreamscaped all over again. The way I had once plotted out my journey around the world, I began to plot just how I could actually bring this writing idea to fruition.
I’m going to share it here, because I truly believe in speaking (and writing) things into existence, and I invite you to come along on this journey with me.
I’m going to write a couple of series as a ghostwriter, probably about 12 books. I look at it as practice and a huge confidence builder. Next, I’ll release a series of my own, most likely under a pen name. After really developing my craft I’ll be able to branch out, maybe as a consultant, for scripts and television series. I just want to daydream and write or live those dreams out. And I’m going to make it happen.
My journey abroad has always been my ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ moment, and in true copycat fashion, and perfect timing, I’ve decided to also focus on the pray portion. In a couple of weeks I’ll go to a yoga and meditation retreat on the coast of Thailand for a month. It’ll be great alone time to mentally prepare myself for what’s surely to come on this next part of my journey.
I’m excited, nervous, anxious, curious, scared, and strangely prepared for it all to happen. I’ve had so much fun writing the first book as a ghost-writer and am blown away by how this dream that seemed so impossible just months ago has grown roots in my mind, as the details for my new reality are so clear that I know their manifestation is inevitable.
Ready for a new journey? Oh, and sorry about my absence, I hope you now understand how and why I needed to get my shit together. But don’t worry, the views from the yoga retreat look picturesque, so I’ll have some great photos and life lessons to share with you soon.
And in the vain of transparency and sharing, here are the first two chapters I wrote and shared with writers that eventually landed my first ghost writing contract. Warning: it is erotic. I hope you enjoy it.
Love ya. And remember to love yourself and your daydreams.
Amirah
Dee Dee Hayes
February 24, 2017If you DREAM,DREAM BIG……It just might come TRUE. You deserve all that your heart desires. ENJOY the RIDE…It sure is a PRODUCTIVE RIDE.
Nomusa
February 24, 2017Hi Amirah, thank you for the update, I’ve been wondering where you had disappeared to.
Happy for you and your new journey.
I’m not sure if you put a link to the first four chapters you wrote or if they are attached somehow.
I’d like to get my hands on them and indulge on them this weekend.
Amirah
February 24, 2017Hey Nomusa! Thanks for the love. I’ve linked to the writing now. Please email me some feedback if you get time!
Gayle lewis
February 26, 2017Missed you and your postings!!! Glad u are still doing your Thang. Keep grinding lady. So excited for you to new journey. Sending love and prayers to you and Jarrel.
Amirah
March 19, 2017Thanks, Gayle! I appreciate you and your support!
Shon
May 10, 2017Hi Amirah,
Thanks for your great post! Because of you I looked into ghostwriting and landed my first two contracts within a week. However, I’ve found that site I use is full of authors looking to pay the minimum for a large amount of work.
Do you think, down the line, you could make a post on the blog or instagram about how to land more lucrative ghostwriting gigs? Or maybe steer us in the right direction so that we can market ourselves to land better contracts?
Thank you so much for the endless inspiration!! Because you shared that you were starting to live your “daydream” I decided to stop being afraid and do the same!
With gratitude,
Shon
Amirah
June 24, 2017Hey Shon!I’ll email you later, but I do go into detail about finding freelance gigs and building your portfolio in my eCourse. I’ll send you all the details.