The Promised Land

Acknowledgments/My Thoughts

     Hey all! I hope you enjoyed this piece, I had a fun time writing this and I'm satisfied with the final product. This was a short story that I hotshotted in about an hour back in December, the original first draft at least. I've made some revisions here and there, but this is the certified final draft. 2746 words is pretty short for a short story (Google told me a short story can be up to 7500 words), but in my eyes it isn't about who's story is longest, but who's is best!

     This is, on a technicality, my second Wattpad story. At the time of writing this, Skatepark is still in the works and I'm worried I'll have to delay it. But that's why I'm releasing works like these, because I'd rather provide something than nothing. Truthfully, I feel like Skatepark is going to be very worth the wait.

     The original inspiration for this was actually kind of... I'm not sure how to describe it. Florida goes through a fluctuation of weather during the winter, and in the case of overcast weather, the intersections in my town appear very mysterious and ominous. I'm not sure why, I just get the feeling. This is ultimately what inspired the town mentioned in the later half of the story. The first half environment (the road + the grass hills) didn't have much inspiration to it. The main character of the story was supposed to be an older version of me, with a scruffy beard, an old red truck and a conducting baton. I'm an aspiring Music Education major and I wanted to write a story that I could legitimately visualize myself in. For anyone curious, I drive a 1998 Ford F150 (contrary to the story, it looks and runs like a gem). 

     On the flip side, I've been driving around the state a lot recently and have gained lots of reference material. Driving through rural and urban environments does a lot for my brain and there's definitely a few spots I want to add in future works. Aside from working on projects, I'm always on the hunt for more reference material (whether it be outside the computer or inside the computer). 

     I want to thank the people who helped make this work come to fruition. I know this guy at RLC (ROBLOX Library), his name is Brandon. He is super talented with his writing and if you ever get the chance, check out his work. He's an amazing author and could definitely make it big time as an author, and I believe he will! I'd be totally down to collaborate with him on something. He's one of my best critics and has made my writing 100 times better, and I'm very thankful for his feedback and suggestions. And just as important, I want to thank all of you who took the time to read this short story and the silly little acknowledgments. 

     Personally, I feel like this story is kind of transitional in terms of my time on the Wattpad platform. It's kind of like a roller coaster! Sugar-Sweet was a huge novel, The Promised Land is a small short story, and Skatepark will be another huge novel. Pretty sure that I'll do the same once Skatepark is done, that being another small side project in between Skatepark and The Music of Living. I'm still deciding that.

     Finally, don't be afraid to send me feedback! I'm always on the hunt for more knowledge that can help me become a better writer. If I'm doing something wrong, call me out for it! Praise and constructive criticism are always accepted because improvement is key. Once again, I seriously thank you all for reading this work, and I hope you are looking forward to Skatepark as much as I am! It's going to be amazing.