From Novels to Websites
How My Writing Journey Led Me to Web Design
One of my biggest goals this year was to finally finish the novel I had always dreamed of publishing. I kicked things off by attending a virtual writer’s retreat, which gloriously opened my eyes to all the possibilities before me. I saw myself achieving my dream—becoming a published author, hitting bestseller lists, maybe even landing a streaming deal for a series based on my book. My eyes grew wider than an anime character’s.
I wrote furiously. Obsessively. I joined a beta reader group where we exchanged works-in-progress, giving and receiving feedback. I thought I was ready for anything.
The feedback was helpful, but the hardest blow came from my own inner voice.
You always hear: “Start when you’re not ready. Start scared. Just start.” So I did. But then fear reared its ugly head and whispered, “See? You’re not ready. You write like a novice, not a novelist. You should just quit.”
I took a break—pretending I wasn’t licking my wounds—but I didn’t quit. This time I was determined not to. I’d started many years with the same goal of writing a novel, and I wasn’t going to abandon it again.
When I felt ready, I joined another group and shared my updated version, which by then had shrunk to a novella. That’s when one comment stopped me cold: “All your characters seem angry.”
Angry? I thought. They’re supposed to come off as sarcastic and funny. But when I looked a little closer, I saw the truth: I had written about an angry young woman who, by the end, realized she needed help and went to therapy.
Punch. In. The. Gut.
That story I was writing wasn’t for an audience. It was for me.
So I listened. I put that project on pause and went into therapy myself.
It took time, but I realized I’d been carrying trauma and anger I wasn’t even aware of. And writing fiction—of all things—was the mirror that revealed it.
I haven’t given up on writing. I’m just taking care of myself as I keep moving toward my goals.
Here’s why I share this personal story: you might be scared. You might stumble and bruise. But you won’t know what you’re meant to learn until you try.
Take what you need from the experience as tools for your journey, and leave the rest.
Unhealed wounds will keep you stuck. Heal them—and move forward.
And moving forward is exactly what brought me here: starting my web design business. What I realized is that right now, this is where I’m supposed to be—helping people with their small businesses, building something meaningful and practical while I continue healing. Web design gives me purpose, a way to support others, and a way to support myself financially.
Writing is still part of my journey, and it always will be. But for now, web design is the chapter I need to be in—the one that allows me to grow, create, and heal while I keep working on my craft.
XO, Randa
