Monday, August 27, 2012

Writer Problems: forgetting to write.

This summer I was super busy.  My kid refused to leave me alone.  I traveled most of the month of July.  I read a lot.  I worked out a TON... like at least one hour a day.  I don't want to brag but my butt looks amazing.

We did a lot of home redecorating, my daughter is now in a big girl bed.

It's been really productive. 

But through all this busy time, I forgot something.... Something important. 

Then I read a tweet from someone and it said, "a real writer writes, everyday no matter what."

Then it hit me what I forgot to do.

I forgot to write.

It's the end of the summer and I'm only 130 pages into my new manuscript.  I didn't revise my old book and my book I'm querying still needs work.

HEADDESK.

To an average person 130 pages into a book sounds incredible.

But to a writer...  well, we all know that it's a massive fail.

The muddled middle is impossible to write, it's when it the easiest to quit.

And there's the other projects looming over my head.

It's not like I have a publisher demanding these books.

 But now I've missed a fictional deadline imposed by no one for a project no one cares about. 

And I feel like one massive failure.

Yes, I know you'll all try to give pep talk me about how my real life is important too and how it's all about balance.

I'm aware of this.

But alas blogging keeps me honest and I haven't been doing that either.

Really I'm worried that my priorities are changing.

What if I keep making excuses for not writing and I quit writing before I achieve my goals?

That's my big fear.

Thoughts?

5 comments:

  1. Well, you dashed my encouragement thoughts by sniffing them out in advance, but 130 pages sounded great to me!

    As for the writing every day. You know, sometimes it just doesn't happen. I'll admit that I'm not as "serious" about writing as many others out there, but I'm okay with that. As soon as writing becomes a chore or something I feel guilty for not doing, then I'm sunk.

    I think what it really comes down to is coming to terms with how YOU are as a writer and what fits best for you. Best of luck with it all!

    ReplyDelete
  2. A real writer doesn't need to write every day, I real writer brings his or her words to life and expresses their thoughts through characters. Don't let people flaunt their success at you, its unhealthy.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've barely gotten any writing (or revising) done this month... I think summer is a busy time for everyone so we all need to lower our expectations. I agree with anon. above. You don't have to write everyday to be a writer! Do the best you can.

    ReplyDelete