Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Writing and the full time job ... blech.


Real life caught up with me there and I dipped into that temptation again -- to drop the blog and hunker down on just writing my fiction. At these times, I even stop looking for places to sell my story. I'm just trying to get a few words further down on the page, the writer's version of putting one foot in front of the other.

My good buddy, Chuck Wendig, put out some good advice this week.

"You read, and you read critically.
You write, and you write critically.
And you do both of these things as often as humanly possible.
Which means: daily.
DAILY.
Daily!"
That's part of a good post about writers and their feeling of self-validation ... especially if they're not published yet. This On Cultivating Instinct As An Inkslinging Penmonkey is a good pep talk. Even though I was an award-winning copywriter, I had the same issue. I'd say, "I'm an 'aspiring novelist,'" or I'd have to throw in the, "but I'm not published yet" disclaimer.  I had a friend though, who kept hammering at me to stop that. "You've had a full time job writing ads. You've won awards. You're a writer, stop it!"

Terry Goodkind, has said that when he decided to start working on his book that he'd tell people that he was a best selling writer. His wife would ask, "Why tell people that, you haven't published anything yet."

His answer? "Then why am I writing in the first place?"

Small side note, Goodkind sold his first manuscript for over $270K ... and he's dyslexic. For him, writing takes a little longer and he's more thorough in his self-edits, but his learning disability and work schedule never stopped him. Consider him the Lance Armstrong of writing.

On that note, I'm going to go for a focus for my next few posts. I've got a short story that's been through one more round of editing and then it's off to Kindle Singles. I'll take you along that journey and see how it goes.

1 comment:

  1. As an artist, I sometimes feel the same way, but to say to people "I'm an artist" and not feel the need to qualify it in any way is important. Just because I am not exhibiting in art galleries does not mean that I'm not an artist.

    I agree with your quote about how important it is to write daily, and how even short amounts will add up. If someone says, "I don't have time for (writing, exercise, painting, etc.)" it is often because they are just not making it a priority in their life. You make time for what's important to you.

    Good luck with the Kindle Singles!

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