Why I Started Writing - and Why I never Really Stopped
Writing wasn't new to me.
Long before I ever became an author, I was already writing. I had
written church plays and church songs, and professionally, I was writing and creating newsletters and publications for my job. Putting words together, developing ideas, and creating something from them had already been a part of my life.
But writing a book?
That was something completely different.
I had never really looked at myself and thought, You should become an author.
Then one conversation changed that.
“You Should Write a Book”
A friend of mine had written his first book, and one day we were talking about it. Somewhere in the middle of that conversation, he said something I wasn't expecting.
“You should write a book.”
My response?
“Who, me?”
He said yes.
And he wasn't just saying it to be nice. He had so much faith in my ability that he offered to pay to have my book published.
And he did.
He believed in me enough to put action behind his words.
There was something about having another person believe in me that strongly that made me think:
Maybe I can do this.
So I went home and started writing.
And once I started, I didn't stop.
Within two weeks, I had finished writing my first novel, Social Butterflies.
Yes—two weeks.
The story just flowed. The characters came alive, the pages kept coming, and suddenly this woman who had written church plays, church songs, newsletters, and publications had written an entire novel.
Then I Held My Book
I'll never forget receiving my first author's copy.
Seeing your words on a computer screen is one thing.
Holding those words in your hands as an actual book is something entirely different.
I remember looking at it almost in disbelief.
This was my writing.
This was my work.
And there on the book was my name:
Alicia Shine.
I was mesmerized.
There was something about seeing that name on the cover that made everything feel real.
I wasn't just someone who had written a book.
I was an author.
And there's a story behind how that name—Alicia Shine—came to be. But I'll save that one for another day.
The Gift Was Already There
Looking back, I realize my friend didn't suddenly turn me into a writer.
The writer was already there.
She was there when I was writing church plays.
She was there when I was writing church songs.
She was there when I was creating newsletters and publications for my job.
She was there every time I had an idea and found a way to bring it to life through words.
What my friend did was challenge me to use that gift in a way I hadn't considered before.
Sometimes that's all it takes.
One person.
One conversation.
One suggestion that makes you see yourself differently.
One Book Became So Much More
I haven't stopped writing since.
What began with Social Butterflies grew beyond fiction. I've written other books, faith-based works, journals, and inspirational pieces. Writing has also become connected to another part of my life that I love—speaking, encouraging, and connecting with people.
And here I am all these years later, still creating.
Still telling stories.
Still finding new things to say.
Still discovering where this gift can take me.
Sometimes someone else sees the gift in you before you realize how far it can take you.
Never Underestimate What You See in Someone Else
I often think about that conversation with my friend.
What if he had thought I could write a book but never said it?
What if he had said it, but I had laughed it off?
What if “Who, me?” had become “No, not me.”
There are things in us that sometimes other people recognize before we recognize their full potential ourselves.
That's why I believe in encouraging people when you see something in them.
Tell them.
Speak it.
Give them the push.
You may think you're making one simple comment, but you have no idea what that comment could unlock.
My friend probably thought he was encouraging me to write one book.
He had no idea he was opening a door I would still be walking through years later.
And I will always be grateful that he not only believed in me—he invested in that belief.
And I'm Still Writing
From church plays and songs to workplace newsletters and publications, novels, faith books, journals, blogs, and beyond, writing has remained part of my journey.
The format may change.
The story may change.
The audience may change.
But the desire to create hasn't.
And every now and then, I think about that original question:
“Who, me?”
Yes.
Me.
And I'm so glad someone believed I could do it before I knew just how far I could take it.
-Alicia
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