Dear Discouraged Writer

Dear Discouraged Writer,

I understand you're pretty low. You're not sure if you have the time, the will, the talent. You're not sure, period. You've been writing for what feels like years-- you should be so much more accomplished than this! You don't understand why some seem to fly through the process you're absolutely laboring through. And worst of all, you're beginning to doubt why you decided to try this at all.

I feel your pain. I'm in a pretty low place, myself. Not sure if I "have what it takes." Not sure if I ever will, or if I've been wasting my time trying to "get there." I've never doubted that I was meant to tell stories, but I've doubted that I have the words, the skills, or the energy to "do it right." That is, get published.

You probably understand this. That's why I want to share something with you. But first, I want to talk about dreams.

Dreams.

We all have them, whether we're in touch with them or not. Sometimes it takes a specific incident -- a person, a situation, a place -- to cast a light on those dreams. Then suddenly you know what you want, even if it feels a million miles away. You'd do anything to be there, have that, experience that.

It's a dream.

If you're like me, then your dream is to be a published author. You're not there yet, but you're trying. Tirelessly, it seems. You dedicate more hours than most working people and still-- no fruit for your labors! But it's your dream. You want to be there. You want to achieve your personal goals, and you want it so badly you're willing to do whatever the internet tells you to to get there. (And there's a bonus. You also really love what you do, so it seems like it must be a win-win situation, right? An easy path to one of your biggest goals?)

Right?

Wrong.

The path hasn't been easy. It isn't easy. It never will be easy. (Well, unless you're one of those lucky few who get an agent on their first try.) Just like life itself, the things we want most in life, we've got to work for. And even when things seem dim (like they do for you now), and all hope is almost lost, you've still got to try.

Because you'll get there yet.

This, I firmly believe. And with that being said, I'd like to share with you a few of my "wall quotes."As I've shared before, I'm in the process of correcting my Scoliosis through a strict, 3-hour daily spine regimen. During the first 90 days of this routine, I had a slip of paper for each day with a checklist of all the exercises and things that needed to be done -- and a quote. When the day was over, I'd tape each paper to the wall.

Today (over 400 days later in the regimen, by the way) there's still a section of wall in my attic covered in 90 slips of paper bearing inspiring quotes. Sometimes I still go up there and just read them. Because it helps to hear these things. It motivates me.

I hope it motivates you.

"The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places."

 ~Unknown

"Believe that you can and you're halfway there."

 ~Theodore Roosevelt

"Don't be discouraged; it's often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock."

 ~Unknown

"If you are going through hell, keep going." 

~Winston Churchill

"Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did."

 ~Newt Gringritch 

"In order to get from what was to what will be, you must go through what is."

 ~Anonymous

"Success is sweet, and sweeter if long delayed and gotten through many struggles and defeats."

 ~Amos Bronson Alcott

"If there is no struggle there is no progress."

 ~Frederick Douglass

"How long should you try? Until."

 ~Jim Rohn

"Hold on, hold fast, hold out. Patience is genius."

 ~Georges-Louis Leclere

"I may not be there, but I'm closer than I was yesterday." 

~Unknown

"Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting."

 ~Napoleon Hill

"It's always too soon to quit!"

 ~Norman Vincent Peale

"Man is not made for defeat."

 Ernist Hemingway

"Stubbornly persist, and you will find that the limits of your stubbornness go well beyond the stubbornness of your limits."

 ~Robert Brault

"Press on! A better fate awaits thee."

 ~Victor Hugo

Love,

Me

Gearing Up for Edits!

Ugh. I have so much trouble with titles! I'm always wondering what should or shouldn't be capitalized, according to the Rules of Blogging. The way I did this post's title feels so... formal.

Ah, well.

Hi, everyone! Sorry it's been a while. I'm in an exciting place at the moment. As you probably know, if anything from the fill-outs at the bottom of each post, I've been drafting a YA fantasy for a while, Aqueous. Well, I finished it.

Let me pause for emphasis.

But you probably already know this, too. It was days ago. And I did announce it on Twitter. (What? You don't follow me? You can rectify this at once by clicking here.) Having another draft under my belt feels good and all, but it's forced me to face something I've been ignoring for a while.

Sure, I've written 10 novels (11 if you count a complete re-write of one of them), but I've never actually finished one. You know, torn it to shreds. Revised it. Edited it. Polished it until it shines.

And that kinda sucks.

Especially with all my future plans to be a published (and successful) author, sharing my stories and dreams with the world, one page at a time, I realized that I really need to do something about this. I won't be querying anything until I've rolled up my sleeves and plunged in. So, you ask, why haven't I?

Let's just be honest here. I've felt intimidated. Scared, even.

There's SO MUCH to do. How can I focus on it all? What if I miss something? What if I don't know how to fix something? What if I lose interest in the story, which has happened before? What if it's not "The Right One" to spend so much time on? What if it all just sucks? WHAT IF, WHAT IF, WHAT IF!

I was in this place when I asked Alison Weiss a question a week or so ago, during Write On!'s Ask-The-Editor session. Here is my question, and her amazing life-changing answer:

QUESTION: So, I'm drafting a novel right now, but I know that once I'm done, I'm going to read through it once, and then set it aside. After that I'm planning to pick up a novel that I finished and attempted to edit half a year ago. I'm a little bit nervous, because in the past, every time I've tried to REALLY edit and fix, I get overwhelmed by my story, and sometimes even sick of it before I actually GET anywhere. What are your suggestions? How should I begin? What's the most effective way for me to stay on top of things, and actually get work done on it?

Any advice will be UBER appreciated! And let me know if I need to clarify or re-word.

ANSWER: Hi Maggie,

I know just what you mean. Going back to a project to revise can be incredibly daunting. Where do you start. There's SO much that has to be fixed. What if the whole thing is just awful? 

Stop. Take a deep breath. Now, you're going to approach this with a different hat. 

Pretend you are not the author of this work. You're just a reader who picked this book up in the bookstore. What are the big pictures that would be going through your head as you're reading? Is the plot making sense? Are elements that are integral to moving your story forward introduced at the right time, or are they too early and killing suspense? Or are they too late and it's hard to figure out what's going on? Do you have places where you're getting bored? Are there places where things are moving too quickly and you can't keep up? What about your characters? Do you like them? Are they developing throughout in reaction to their circumstances, or do they just remain pretty much the way they were when the story started? Now you have some direction for improving the framework of your novel. 

Now, let's get a little bit more focused. Dialogue. Does what you're character is saying sound authentic to that character? If it's a teenager, is that how a teen speaks? (Read it aloud. If it sounds strange, maybe there's something to adjust.) In characters interacting to each other, to experiences, do they know only what they could possibly know at a given moment? Or have things that you know as the puppet master crept in that shouldn't be there? Voice: Is it consistent? Is it natural? Phrasing overall: Do your sentences flow naturally? Are there are places that are clunky, or too wordy, or not descriptive enough that you need to tackle? You should now be elbows deep in your revision and well on your way to getting everything "just right."

How to keep at it? I think you have to be disciplined. I'm sure you'd love to watch TV, or go to the movies, or clean your room (okay, maybe not the last one, but I certainly did a lot of this putting off tackling college papers) but you just need to get yourself in the chair and say "I'm going to work on this for this long today." And you need to do this consistently. There's always something else you need or want to do. But if you want to make this book work--if you want to be a writer--you have to make working on your writing a priority.

Now, if you're anything like me, and are (or have been) in my situation, you'll understand why I found this answer so incredibly helpful. She gave me a GUIDE. Something to follow. A clear, logical, no-drama approach to take.

Now?

I feel empowered.

I feel able.

I feel ready.

So, as I set Aqueous aside to rest for a little, it's time to warm up my fingers and pull Blink back out of the drawer. I may not be not super confident or excited -- I don't think I'll ever be one of those people who get excited about revisions -- but I'm ready.

And that's enough.

So. It's your turn! What's new in your writing lives? Coming close to finishing your WIP? Just finished, like me? Or ankle-deep in revisions and have some advice to share? I'm all ears.

Have a lovely Friday, everyone!

Best Part of Today: The gorgeous weather. And I do mean gorgeous.
Currently Craving: Not really anything. I'm perfectly content.
Music Pick: "Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perri

I'm Reading: "Mansfield Park" by Jane Austen

WIP: NONE