Well, it has been a while since I've posted anything here, but I feel like I only have the energy for a quick update today. If I had more energy, I would be writing the article I've researched and submitting it to Helium. Man, that place is so much fun for me . . . and so inspiring.
I wrote a novel eight years ago and had it published. Sometimes I still can't even believe I did it, but I think it broke something in me. Since that time all of my fiction writing has focused on the sale, on getting that rush again. That's no way to write. The writer suffocates when forced to write things that will only sell. There is only so much my writer's heart can take of ignoring my impulses.
This begs the question, though, how does one be a professional writer -- i.e. showing up everyday, cranking out the pages everyday, not waiting on the muse, actually selling something -- if you write on what feels like whim?
I'd like to believe that if something is interesting enough to me to write it then it is interesting enough for someone to want to read it. Maybe it is naive, but why write if you don't think your thoughts and words have meaning or use? There is certain writing for self such as journal and maybe blogs, but I want to write for the public. I enjoyed selling that book and would enjoy selling one again.
I actually did like writing the books, though. I loved getting to know the character and breaking down the story. I liked changing things midway because something else seems to work better. I love that feeling you get when a brilliant solution bares itself to you and is more clever than anything you could have ever come up with. I did like it, so why is it so hard to write a book again?
Writer abuse, I think. I don't focus on what I like about writing the book only on what I like about selling the book. Selling doesn't always happen, but writing always done. Perhaps I focused so much on that rush that I missed the joy of the actual story writing. Really, I don't know that I realized how much I enjoyed the writing itself. Writing is hard, but it is like hammering a metal sheet into a helmet -- you start out with a flat piece that needs to be a rounded piece. Then you bash the hell out of it and sweat and sometimes cry. Then you finish and people are amazed.
I need to remember why I liked writing books to begin with. Story and character are only the top two.
Congrats on getting your novel published. What's it called so I can look it up? Don't worry about the writing drought at the moment. Writing is like exercise or any other skill, it takes time to build up to it after taking a break. Try writing something every day, even if it stinks at first, and you'll find the creative juices running again in no time. It is important to be published but also to write things you enjoy. You will get the balance back, just don't fret about it.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm trying not to fret about it. I'm doing really well writing articles, though. I'm up to my old speed which was about 1500 words per day. If I could channel that into a novel . . . sigh.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, my book is called My Lady Elizabeth. It's out of print now, but you can find it used. I'm thinking about publishing it online so that people can read it. I have so few copies left!
Thanks for adding me as a favourite on Helium. :) It is brilliant you are doing so well with writing articles. That is something I really struggle with. Writing 1500 words a day is a solid number and you should be really proud of it. Don't worry about a novel yet. Start writing short stories to ease you back into fiction and then the novel will come. The submission contest will be great for that. The competition will give you motivation to keep going! :)
ReplyDeleteI found a copy of your book on Amazon and ordered. I'm looking forward to reading it.