I'm Writing A Novel, And I'm F*cking Terrified!

Not quite the headline you all might have been expecting, but yes, it's true! After writing hundreds of thousands of words over the past decade for all of my scripts, promotional material, and every other thing you could imagine—I'm looking to put pen to paper in the way I used to dream of. 

Long before I picked up a microphone and started making questionable noises into it, I was a storyteller. I wanted nothing more in my life than to create stories and characters that touched people, and most importantly, inspired them to create stories of their own. I was a seven year old kid fresh off of playing Final Fantasy VII when I knew I wanted to write. 

It was my first dream.

That dream and I have been on a wild roller coaster ride over the years. I've been in the trenches, roleplaying in dark corners of the internet. I've written professionally as a journalist all thanks to lowkey never telling anyone my age online as I got through high school. Oh, and while I was doing that, I was also writing sad boy poetry on LiveJournal and Myspace. 

You know me for my voice, but that voice has been developed through a lifetime of finding creative ways to string together enough words that when I slap a period at the end of it, the audience locks in. I've written 99% of what you've listened to from me. I take great pride in that, and that won't be changing any time soon.

The thing that brought me this far, the thing responsible for all of the daydreams and fantasies about wonderful worlds filled with characters and stories that fueled my creativity, was the hope that one day I'd write a novel.

If you've been a creative of any sort, you're likely very familiar with how effective hope is at creating something. It's a wonderful seed but until you start watering it and drag it out into the light of day, it cannot grow. So, consider this me dragging a big ass pot of soil out into the middle of our lovely little garden. 

There are so many beautiful stories we've grown together already: BitterSweet, Shattered, Lost & Found, and an entire extended universe that's coming to life in Evalas!

I want to create more. I want to entertain and inspire more. 

But what I don't want is to have come all this way and never taken a shot at the one dream I left behind. I want to write a novel. I have always wanted to write a novel. 

I don't give a damn if I'm scared. I don't care if I'm rusty and my writing is clumsy and ineloquent. I don't care that I have to dig deeper to find more time and energy to create and develop and refine. 

I'm able to say that because of you. 

Do you realize how powerful that is? That you could lift up someone who has been as tired and lost as I have been throughout my life? Have you seen me??? I'm a big son of a bitch!

This isn't me just saying thank you, though. I want to invite you along for the ride!

Let me introduce you to Ryland Dane. If you’ve enjoyed my storytelling thus far, I have a feeling you’ll appreciate what this fella has in store for the future! Every follow on every platform makes a huge difference and helps fuel this rocket we’re going to ride on this journey, and I appreciate you very much.

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If you are in the industry, a beta reader, editor, agent, or published author and would be interested in working with me in the future, please don't hesitate to reach out to my business email at rylanddanewrites@gmail.com! I'm sure there are a few of you lurking, and I am always keen on working with professionals who are familiar with my work and this journey I've been on!