Writing is hard. Writing is really, really hard. It's labor intensive, it's painful, it's exhausting, it's soul-sucking. Writers are a bunch of masochists. What other explanation is there for why we put ourselves through this?
Fun.
At least, it should be a reason. And to be honest, I've lost sight of that a little. That's part of why I'm taking this break to just goof off. I need to relearn to enjoy myself and my writing. I think fun is the key I'm missing, the key that will unlock the door to being a better writer.
Isn't that what we all want? I know it's what I want. I am always looking for new ways to learn to be a better writer.
And I'm certainly not opposed to having a good time while I do it.
Showing posts with label professional personal update. Show all posts
Showing posts with label professional personal update. Show all posts
Monday, June 4, 2012
Monday, April 30, 2012
Monday Miscellany: Nine Facts
I could write about how allergies suck or how my muse is a sneaky bastard, but, instead, I'm going to go the meme route and offer you nine (writing-related) facts about myself. I know that I sometimes like to see these posts from the bloggers I love. Maybe you care, too. (And if not, we will return to our regularly scheduled programming tomorrow. Or Wednesday. Depends on how long it takes me to format the next formatting post.)
1. I have been "writing" since even before I could spell. I have distinct memories of scribbling on notebook pages when I was three or so, speaking the story out loud.
2. When I was eleven, I wrote an entire series about marine biologists and their kids/teenage interns/college students. Each story was the length of a young adult novel and I took inspiration for the series from The Babysitter's Club. (You know, each story is centered on a different member of the club, etc.) They were really bad, but I was proud of them. I drew covers and printed them out and stapled them together and everything.
3. My first experience with fanfiction was writing my own Frank Hardy/Nancy Drew shipper fic. Joe caught them kissing. I was nine, okay?
4. My first real experience with fanfiction online was Star Wars. I know you're shocked. This was back in the late nineties, right after the original trilogy was re-released. I read a lot of Hanson, Backstreet Boys, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer fic, too.
5. The first fanfiction I ever wrote and shared with fandom is actually a recommended story on a famous cross-fandom reference site. I am insanely proud of this.
6. I have had a muse since I was about eleven. I used to rely exclusively on inspiration to strike until I realized--when I was about fourteen--that inspiration is pretty much always there and when it isn't, it can be manufactured until it's real.
7. That said, I've still suffered writer's block. In fact, my most recent stretch of it was through 2008. I'm still trying to recover my 2005 - 2007 mojo.
8. The vampire novel I'm working on, The Guest, has been written and re-written five times in the last fourteen years. I finally feel like the version I'm working on now is the right one. That may change.
9. In my second year of college, when I was a criminal justice major with the intention of going to law school, my philosophy professor pulled me aside and suggested I give up law and "write for a living." He wasn't the first or last educator to suggest that, but I remember him the most.
1. I have been "writing" since even before I could spell. I have distinct memories of scribbling on notebook pages when I was three or so, speaking the story out loud.
2. When I was eleven, I wrote an entire series about marine biologists and their kids/teenage interns/college students. Each story was the length of a young adult novel and I took inspiration for the series from The Babysitter's Club. (You know, each story is centered on a different member of the club, etc.) They were really bad, but I was proud of them. I drew covers and printed them out and stapled them together and everything.
3. My first experience with fanfiction was writing my own Frank Hardy/Nancy Drew shipper fic. Joe caught them kissing. I was nine, okay?
4. My first real experience with fanfiction online was Star Wars. I know you're shocked. This was back in the late nineties, right after the original trilogy was re-released. I read a lot of Hanson, Backstreet Boys, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer fic, too.
5. The first fanfiction I ever wrote and shared with fandom is actually a recommended story on a famous cross-fandom reference site. I am insanely proud of this.
6. I have had a muse since I was about eleven. I used to rely exclusively on inspiration to strike until I realized--when I was about fourteen--that inspiration is pretty much always there and when it isn't, it can be manufactured until it's real.
7. That said, I've still suffered writer's block. In fact, my most recent stretch of it was through 2008. I'm still trying to recover my 2005 - 2007 mojo.
8. The vampire novel I'm working on, The Guest, has been written and re-written five times in the last fourteen years. I finally feel like the version I'm working on now is the right one. That may change.
9. In my second year of college, when I was a criminal justice major with the intention of going to law school, my philosophy professor pulled me aside and suggested I give up law and "write for a living." He wasn't the first or last educator to suggest that, but I remember him the most.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
SitRep Saturday: Progress and Life
It was another crazy week. I got sick again (seriously, twice in one year--what the hell) and we had a ton of stuff to do for my husband's work (he reenlisted, he had a formal evening function to attend) and he was off for more than half the week, which means more family time. It was like the universe was conspiring against me. Or, you know, it was just one of those weeks where I had to play wife-and-mom instead of writer-and-blogger. These weeks happen.
As far as One Good Cowboy goes, I'm still struggling. I actually ended up converting the whole thing to html and spacing it out for web reading, doing a find-and-replace for words I knew I had overused, cutting the last 40% with the intention of re-working, and going through it paragraph by paragraph, ten minutes at a time. So far, the first 30% is much, much better and I'm feeling good about the rest of it.
I am going to finish this story. And it will be good.
Probably the best thing about the downtime this week was the fact that I got a lot of reading done. I finished No Wings Attached and started Candlelight Sinner and I read a Supernatural tie-in novel called Coyote's Kiss. I also read a short book on household tips, but I only mention that here because I want to offer this advice: if you're going to write a book of tips for hacking your home, please try to come up with new tips and don't rely on free Internet tidbits or things you read about on the back of the baking soda box.
I should also mention that I have about five blog posts in various stages of drafting. I kept meaning to get them finished and up last week, but you know how it goes. I have some email to check, too. I've been a terrible professional this week.
As far as One Good Cowboy goes, I'm still struggling. I actually ended up converting the whole thing to html and spacing it out for web reading, doing a find-and-replace for words I knew I had overused, cutting the last 40% with the intention of re-working, and going through it paragraph by paragraph, ten minutes at a time. So far, the first 30% is much, much better and I'm feeling good about the rest of it.
I am going to finish this story. And it will be good.
Probably the best thing about the downtime this week was the fact that I got a lot of reading done. I finished No Wings Attached and started Candlelight Sinner and I read a Supernatural tie-in novel called Coyote's Kiss. I also read a short book on household tips, but I only mention that here because I want to offer this advice: if you're going to write a book of tips for hacking your home, please try to come up with new tips and don't rely on free Internet tidbits or things you read about on the back of the baking soda box.
I should also mention that I have about five blog posts in various stages of drafting. I kept meaning to get them finished and up last week, but you know how it goes. I have some email to check, too. I've been a terrible professional this week.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
On Writing in the New Year: Resolutions
Making resolutions isn't something I only do once a year, but the first of January always gives me special occasion to reexamine the previous year's goals and resolutions and to make new ones for the coming year.
Eight months of 2011 were devoted to learning about the publishing industry, learning about self-publishing, and fumbling my way around blogging, Tweeting, and releasing the first few books. I'm coming into 2012 with a little bit of knowledge and experience--and that's only good enough to point me in the direction of more knowledge and more experience.
So here they are, my 2012 Resolutions:
Eight months of 2011 were devoted to learning about the publishing industry, learning about self-publishing, and fumbling my way around blogging, Tweeting, and releasing the first few books. I'm coming into 2012 with a little bit of knowledge and experience--and that's only good enough to point me in the direction of more knowledge and more experience.
So here they are, my 2012 Resolutions:
- I will finish every story I start, even if I don't share it.
- I will take risks, try new things, and avoid The Rut.
- I will finish the vampire novel.
- I will do my very best to offer readers something new every month.
- I will do my very best to blog consistently and offer quality content.
- I will seek out more guest posters.
- I will read one book a month (because a writer who does not read isn't much of a writer).
- I will learn more about publishing, self-publishing, promotion, marketing.
- I will remember to check my email, Twitter, and Facebook regularly.
- I will more actively market my work.
This is going to be an exciting year.
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