Overtime

Acknowledgements

When everything in your life crumbles, what do you have left?

This question, despite its ominous nature, is what I was seeking to answer when I began writing Overtime. The concept came to me in the middle of high school, and was originally an idea that I deemed so crazy, complex, and wild that I never thought about actively pursuing it. In the years that followed, silently, almost every day, the story would expand.

Instead of abnormal superheros, they would be real. Regular students with extraordinary gifts.

Instead of being struck by lighting or caught in a freak accident, they would get their powers from experimentation, and would be grounded in reality.

They'll face a shooter, a common foe, instead of a super villain.

Each time a new idea came along, it was as if the concepts fit together like puzzle pieces. It was like the book was already written and the universe handed it to me, my only task being to put it onto paper.

Still, despite feeling as if the story had been perfectly formed, I didn't want to write it. Not yet, anyway.

In the year leading up to when I began writing the novel, every aspect of my life fell apart. My family crumbled and disassociated. All 5 of my best friends told me they were moving halfway across the country together. Another one of my friends was murdered, bringing my tally of "friends that were murdered by their partners" up to two. My school life was a mixture of chaos, uncertainty, and stress. My confidence was chipped at by "friends" who reminded me consistently that I was undeserving of affection. I had "friends" who found disgust at the notion that I was in love, and quelshed the flame. I had "friends" who held the weights of my weaknesses above my head, and only when I was at my weakest did they drop them. Any and all motivation for extra curriculars, for my faith, for my well-being, was gone.

Everything had crumbled.

It was then, sitting alone in my bedroom on one of the lowest nights of my life, did I finally ask:

"When everything crumbles, what do I have?"

Then, looking at my NaNoWriMo 2016 certificate hanging on the wall, I knew what I needed to do.

I knew Overtime was the novel I needed to write.

I wrote a book about a group of six who came from nothing. There was nothing left to crumble. Instead of staring at the ashes of what once was, scrambling to try to rebuild, they were the ones who began from nothing. In spite of it, it was from nothing that they succeeded. Despite having no family, no education, no friends, no affection, no passions, they succeeded. But how?

I've learned two extremely important lessons this past year, and they are the lessons that Overtime has been infused with:

When you turn pain into power, you become unbreakable, and beauty blooms from the roots of tragedy.

These concepts fuelled my creative spark. Then, Overtime was born.

This past year while writing this novel, I turned my pain into power. I turned my anguish into a book. I escaped the world for a few hours every day to write, to edit, to dream, and to be in a world different from my own. It made me stronger, it gave me insight as to how I should push through a world that hurt me, and showed me how to go on.

Now, you're looking at an unbreakable woman. And now, you've finished the book that made her that way.

Now, let me say some thank yous.

Once again, I need to thank NaNoWriMo. This organization has fuelled me in ways I could've only ever dreamed of, and I'm forever grateful for the work they do for people like me, and for young writers around the world.

I want to thank the people who have been reading and supporting this book from the beginning. You guys are what motivated me to post chapters and give updates. You're the reason my book was ranked so highly in so many categories. For that, I thank you.

I want to thank my friends for being so kind during those NaNoWriMo months. These were the people who would make plans with me but sat quietly, allowing me to catch up on my word count, before we began chatting. You guys understood that NaNo was the therapy I needed at that time, and let me pursue that. I can never thank you enough for letting me heal through words.

Most importantly, I need to thank everyone who has ever given me a chance. Any person who has started this book, has sent me a DM encouraging me, or who has told me that my writing is lovely. Thank you. My writing is a way of healing and getting through the world. If I didn't have it, I don't know where I would be. I thank you for letting me do what I do, and for letting me live the life I love.

Thank you. Aubrey, Colten, Raymond, Dustin, Noah, and Jay thank you. The Professor thanks you. I, above all of them, thank you.

These characters have lived within my heart for 5 years now. They've been my friends, and have been my inspiration and drive. I hope they can be your friends too, and I hope you carry them with you wherever you go, just like me.

Here's to the beauty, and here's to the tragedy that prevails it. Here's to it all. Here's to you.

- JustAJournalist / Tay ♡