Friday, July 29, 2011

Perseverance, Writing, and You

I really just want to do a post to honor all of you writers and your perseverance in writing, and blogging, and living life while learning how to balance it all.

Writing is not always easy, as you know. Writing a novel isn't just throwing words onto paper. It's getting the story out, tweaking, editing, rewriting, plotting, getting stuck, plotting some more, bouncing off of friends/family/support people, writing more, and finally, finally getting that last sentence written.

It's that moment of celebration--you wrote a book. You actually did it.

And then it's the editing. Lots of it. Personally, I often find the editing more exhausting than the writing--and sometimes it lasts a lot longer. There's the rewriting, the file sent off to beta readers/critique partners. There's getting the feedback, weighing it all carefully, and deciding what needs to be changed in the story. More editing. More rewriting. Wash, rinse, repeat. Send it to more betas. Get more feedback.

Then there's deciding what you want to do with it. Query letters, agents, publishers, self-publishing. Writing summaries and blurbs. Sending emails. Blogging. Tweeting.

When your book gets to publication, by whatever means chosen, there's marketing and other such things to think about.

Oh, and yes: there's deciding if this is the only book you want to write or if you have more you want to do.

Writing is different for everyone depending on life and circumstances. Writing can be finding time between school, work, exams. It's can be squeezing in writing in between homeschooling kids. It can be getting up early or staying up late. It can be lugging your laptop to your kids' Taekwondo or ballet classes. It can be hunching over a notebook in a coffee shop. It can be trying to work while not being distracted by shiny things on the internet. It can be a hundred other things that you have scheduled or the hundred unscheduled things that pop up.

It's a long, long process to write one book, and if you write more than one, the cycle continues.

But you persevere through it all. You plug on through computer crashes, through a file shutting down and not saving the last ten pages you wrote. You wrestle with those characters or that plot until you come out the other side--maybe with battle scars, but you come out and you get that next part of the book written.

Whether you are just starting to plot your first novel, or preparing your eighty-second book for publication: you are doing it. Don't forget to stop every now and then and remind yourself of what you are accomplishing. You're creating new worlds, breathing life into characters, filling pages with something that is important to you. You're learning and growing and shaping your craft.

And it's worth all of it.

For all of you sticking with your book(s) and riding the wild rollercoaster of plot, here is an award I made to celebrate what you are doing.


17 comments:

  1. But there must be something truly incredible about the writing gig because look at how many people finish their first book and keep going!

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  2. 97th draft. Oh, Laura. You're killing me! I'm getting ready to start my 10th and what I hope will be the final.

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  3. You are my hero. Maybe I can do this too. Can't wait to read Confessions.

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  4. you are just so CUTE!
    so positive and passing on your encouraging vibes!
    thank you and congrats!

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  5. I like your award. Very creative!

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  6. Well said about perseverance. So much gets in the way of writers writing. Thanks for the post!

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  7. Entering Donna's contest. Sounds like a fun book!

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  8. Great post! The award is so cute. My hat is off to all of us wonderful writers!

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  9. So, I FINALLY finished reading your “Thoughts Read Unspoken” (love it, of course), and I can’t stop thinking about the chapter “Heart”. That the art you do is a window to your heart; that with your art you can look at the heart of things, and that’s very true.

    I know that my heart and soul goes into my writing, and it’s not always easy to share that. But it’s for that exact reason that I write story after story. It’s like I’m exploring more about myself. And trying to see why the world is the way it is.

    I know a lot of times my head’s in the clouds (my friends have complained a few times. LOL), but I just find the imaginary world to be so enticing! I’m always plotting stories, and I love taking people with me. It’s nice to have a place with no boundaries that you can exist. If anything, I’m glad my writing can help people let their imaginations soar, or help them in troubled times.

    So I don’t talk about myself much, but that’s because I’m so personal about my art, and fandoms. In a way, I think it IS my heart, if that makes sense. I just wish others could see that. LOL.

    You know, I think that’s why so many people never publish anything. Or just write fanfiction. Until you decide that you want to share who you are with people, and you’re strong enough in who you are to get criticism, I don’t think you can really move forward.

    But when you can, I think writing is just so much easier! I think that’s the real hurtle right there. I know who I am now because of my writing, and I wouldn’t change that for the world!

    One of my favorite things about writing is when your subconscious does something your conscious mind doesn’t notice at first. Like what happened with Cass and pink beverages in Confessions. LOL. It’s like your subconscious is plotting, but you don’t see it at first, but when you do, it’s like it was meant to be. Like you were consciously planning something all along. Hahaha. I love being taken by surprise in my stories.

    Thanks for this post, Laur. It’s really helped me gather my thoughts, and put things into perspective.

    And to answer your question, I have seen the Korra trailer. I was actually going to tell you to watch it if you hadn’t! I’m loving the animation of Korra! And the fluidity of the bending. I also like that we’ll see some brawls as well as bending battles this time.

    Korra’s going to be so different from Aang! Polar opposites, really. But I like it better that way, and the new technologically advanced world. It shows how different the show’s going to be…

    Although, I’m starting to worry that Aang might have been murdered by one of those anti-Avatar revolutionaries. I mean Avatars can live a pretty long time, and Aang died when he’s eighty-six… hmm. I just feel like they’d want the original show to tie in that way or something.

    Here’s hoping we get that answered, and see connections to our fav characters from the original.

    And I really should just send you another e-mail. LOL.

    Here’s hoping my PC doesn’t crash! I can’t hear those words without thinking of me, you know. Hahaha.

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  10. I seem to generate mass amounts of notes with all sorts of scribbles about the book on them.

    It's probably not enough to get me into the Xmen

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  11. Persevering is what's it's all about, isn't it? Because really, there is SO MUCH TO DO. But just like you said, it's all totally worth it!

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  12. Donna Weaver is such a great library. She has had me read so many wonderful books and I am excited about her knew book give away. Thank you for giving her more fun stuff to read.

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  13. Writing is pretty much an act of perseverance. It takes a lot of it to continue event when I'm wondering if I'll sell the story I'm writing.

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  14. Thanks for this post. Cheers to acknowledging the writer in us all, and the contented smile only a writer knows.

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  15. Thanks, but I wish I could say I had more balance in my life. Congratulations on Confessions....


    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts!