A WRITERS LIFE: THE DREAM LIVES ON
Ah, the writer’s life.
The joy of getting out of bed when you want, grabbing an aromatic cup of freshly-perked java, and still decked out in comfy pajamas and fuzzy slippers, sitting in front of the computer tastefully situated in a beautiful office with a glorious view and immediately typing away on your next book. No hassles. No interruptions.
Words flowing. Ideas flowing. Creative energy flowing. Like a dream, the story writes itself, and before you know it, another book is written.
A perfect day. A perfect life. The writer’s life.
Not!
This scenario, unfortunately, is a fantasy. The way we wish it would be, especially when we’re most frustrated with our writing. The reality is me dragging my still-tired self out of bed way earlier than I really want, feeding the cat, making the coffee that may or may not be aromatic or any good, and then schlepping my way over to my computer to wade through the mass of stuff I have to do before I can get to my book.
Once I’m writing, it rarely goes smoothly. Sometimes the words flow, sometimes they don’t. And if they don’t then I live in hell until I can work my way out of the corner I’ve probably managed to write myself into, until I finally, finally, figure out where the blasted story is supposed to go. This scenario is especially true if you’re a pantser like me.
As if that weren’t enough, then the editing process begins. This is where I continually go over and over and over my manuscript, fleshing it out, adding in layers and depth, agonizing over word choices and sentence structure, and generally cleaning up the mess I fondly refer to as my first draft. All in an effort to make said manuscript as perfect as I possibly can. And when you’re a perfectionist by nature like I am, and even if you’re not, it’s a lot of hard work. And despite all that effort, the end result still isn’t anywhere near perfect. Is it all worth it?
Absolutely!
Because when you sell your book, the feeling of elation is like no other. And when that book’s release day arrives, the excitement is phenomenal. The absolute icing on the cake is when you hear back from readers who love your book. It’s wonderful. It’s a dream.
It’s perfect.
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Anara Bella
Hello, wow I never thought about how was the life of a writer, actually had the idea that out as fantasy. But nothing in life is easy and if something is true is that all this effort becomes a joy when they see the fruit of their book, when a writer sees people buying their book the feeling their should feel It should not have a price.
Really nice blog 🙂
Да, по-настоящему в этом что-то такое есть. А раньше я был довольно наивен 🙂 Ну что ж – времена изменились 🙂
In my case, I think the procrastination thing is the fear that what you write out on paper won’t match the vision in your head. That’s how it is for me anyway.
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I think you’re absolutely right, Jenyfer. That’s definitely a factor for me as well. I think it’s also the worry that I’ll end up staring at the blank screen and not writing anything at all. SO, not fun.
The one thing I’ve found that really helps me with both fears is to give myself permission to write crap. You’ve probably heard that expression before, but it’s so true. That, in conjunction with the well-known advice that ‘you can’t edit a blank page’, seems to help me with this a lot. Telling myself repeatedly to go ahead and write anything, something, because I can always fix it later, somehow helps me get past that whole perfectionist thing. Especially now that I’ve experienced it for myself.
There have been numerous times when I’ve forced myself to write and thought what I was writing was horrible and would have to be scrapped later. Then when I went back I found it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I’d imagined and with a bit of work it ended up being great. Other times, I was shocked to find it was actually pretty good to begin with. And the bonus of doing this – I was that many pages further along with my manuscript. =)
Anara
In my case, I think the procrastination thing is the fear that what you write out on paper won’t match the vision in your head. That’s how it is for me anyway.
What, you’re life isn’t like that? LOL. And I know lots of us go to a full time job somewhere in that lovely day. I leave for work early in the morning so I do lots of my writing late at night after the kids are in bed. I get less sleep than when they were babies get up at night. But it is worth it. Especially to get that first book published.
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Oh my goodness, you’re SO right, Susan! Many writers have to work full time jobs outside the home and I’m truly in awe of the dedication it takes to do that and then find the time to write.
My hat’s off to you and every writer who shows that kind of commitment to their craft! =)
Anara
What, you’re life isn’t like that? LOL. And I know lots of us go to a full time job somewhere in that lovely day. I leave for work early in the morning so I do lots of my writing late at night after the kids are in bed. I get less sleep than when they were babies get up at night. But it is worth it. Especially to get that first book published.
Hi Anara, reading this blog gave me a chance to get to know you. Congrats on your release of Ready Or Not. I enjoyed the excerpt and trailer for your book and have added it to my Samhain Wish List.
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Hi Cathy! I’m so glad you enjoyed the blog and book trailer. This was my first blog so I was really nervous about it. And the book trailer for Ready or Not was the first time I’ve ever tackled making one of those as well. There have been a lot of ‘firsts’ for me in the last few weeks. LOL
I hope you enjoy reading Ready or Not. I had a blast writing it.
Thanks, Cathy!! =)
Anara
Hi Anara, reading this blog gave me a chance to get to know you. Congrats on your release of Ready Or Not. I enjoyed the excerpt and trailer for your book and have added it to my Samhain Wish List.
As for this procrastination thing … it’s a complete mystery to me why we avoid doing the very thing we love so much. One of these days I’m going to do an academic study on it ;))
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Yeah, it totally mystifies me as well, Tricia. Make sure to let us know what you find out when you’ve completed that study!! LOL
Anara
Found myself nodding in agreement as I read your post, Anara. As for this procrastination thing … it’s a complete mystery to me why we avoid doing the very thing we love so much. One of these days I’m going to do an academic study on it ;))
Thanks for telling us about a writers life 🙂
Sorry about the wacky order my posts are coming through. Some of them just wouldn’t post even after 7 or 8 tries, so I kept coming back and trying at different times today. Finally got them all up though.
Gotta love computers. LOL
Anara
I’m tired just thinking about it! LOL
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Yeah, I tired myself out writing about it. LOL
Anara
I think you and I must have been separated at birth, LOL!!!
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Hahaha! So you know EXACTLY what I’m talking about then. LOL
Anara
The most difficult part of writing my books seems to happen at about the three-quarter mark and I haven’t quite figured out why that is. I’m not sure if it’s reluctance to put my characters through the black moment, or reluctance for the story to end, or just sagging-middle syndrome. But once I force my way past that lull the story comes together pretty quickly from there.
Generally I write from beginning to end, in chronological order, as the story unfolds for me. The only exception to that happens when I’m about a third to halfway through the book. For some unknown reason the end scene suddenly pops into my head fully formed. When that happens, I drop everything, quickly write it out and just stick it at the end of the manuscript. And so far that spontaneous scene always ends up fitting perfectly.
Character names just happen. I don’t know how but without any conscious planning on my part, as I’m writing the opening scene, the name just shows up on the screen. And so far I’ve never needed to change a characters name because it fits them perfectly. =)
Anara
“For me, the hardest part of writing is to fight my inclination to procrastinate. I’m the worst procrastinator. The second hardest part is to find the time. The third hardest part is to turn off my internal critic.”
I think you and I must have been separated at birth, LOL!!!
What was the most dificult part of writing the book. Do you write from beginning to end or do you already have an ending and have to seam it al together? How did you pick your characters names?
Thanks, Kerensa!! =)
I wholeheartedly agree. That perfect day would be nice to experience, even just once. LOL
Anara
UGH! YES! Several times. Writer’s block is the absolute worst. Usually it’s because I’ve written myself into a dead end I don’t know how to get out of. But sometimes it’s got nothing to do with the writing and everything to do with life. Not feeling well, worrying about something, or stress can all cause the words to shrivel up and disappear.
As far as I can tell, though, there’s no magical cure for it. Just plain old-fashioned hard work. You push through and make yourself write whether you feel like it or not. Chances are you’ll feel what you’re writing is complete drek, but surprisingly when you read it later it’s usually better than you thought and can be fixed with a bit of work.
For me, the hardest part of writing is to fight my inclination to procrastinate. I’m the worst procrastinator. The second hardest part is to find the time. The third hardest part is to turn off my internal critic. The next hardest…um, I think I’d better just stop right there. LOL
Anara
Have you ever had writers block and had to muddle through? How do you do it? What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?
I’m tired just thinking about it! LOL
LOL it would be nice to have that perfect day. I love how you described the feeling of selling your book. Can’t wait to see many more books from you.