Starting new is never easy. Even when writing this post I struggle to type the first words on my keyboard. There are so many ideas in my head that form a giant beautiful mess like the Room of Requitement in Harry Potter: The right thing is definitely in there, but where to look? Where to start?
A few words about me: I have just finished university and reveived my master's degree in English Literature a couple of weeks ago. I dedicated about seven years of my life reading and analysing books in another language (fyi: I'm from Germany). And I loved it. I have always had a great passion for stories. All I would do as a child in my freetime was listening to audio books and drawing my own stories on paper (back then, I wasn't keen on the actual writing part yet). I told stories through my art. Sometimes my imagination went a bit far that I even told stories to myself when I sat on the toilet.
In High School I had an awesome English Teacher. He made English classes very exciting and really put foreward the magic of stories. I'm sure, he doesn't even remember me but shout out to you Herr Vatheuer! Because of him and his classes I started to love the English language. Seven years later, I have a master's degree in English Literature.
I know what you're thinking right now. Every time I meet someone new and tell them what I study, they ask me this exact question: "So, you want to become an English teacher?" I always tell them: "No." The follow-up question: "Then what do you want to do after university?" That's a good question. I have to admit, I mostly lied. Or let me rephrase it, I mostly just anwered what ONE CAN do after having studied English Literature. Become a journalist, work in publishing, translate texts, or give seminars at university. All these jobs are good options. For me personally, I never knew what exactly I want my job description to be after graduating. The one thing I always knew, though, was stories. How to achieve that? Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the world of freelancing.
So, here we are. Right after my graduation, I made my first baby steps as a freelance writer and creator, which leads us back to the beginning of this post: Where to start? In my world, and maybe in yours as well, there is not one specific way, no straight line to follow. Everyone in this business walks differently. Some take turns, some go in circles, some run and some stand still. The important thing is simply to start walking. And everything will eventually fall into place. Just start.