Momentum matters and persistence pays
Momentum matters and persistence pays -- no truer words were ever spoken (or written) for a writer.
As I discover every day, no daily writing session stands alone, each hour of work, each day of work ties to the one before--and connects to the one to come after. Writing builds on itself.
With everything we all have going on in our daily lives, brains can only be expected to hold on to a plotline for so long. Let's face it, life gets in the way of writing. Life has an annoying tendency to take our minds away from our characters and make us talk and actually interact (gasp of horror) with living, breathing people. When this happens and I get back to my writing, what momentum I'd built up has gone bye-bye. Dang it! Then I have to take valuable writing time to go back over what I'd done before to bring myself back up to speed.
And it's not just the words that we lose our grasp on when we don't (or can't) write every day. A particular character's emotional state, the emotions they had in the scene where you stopped were right there, bubbling on the surface of your consciousness, ready to be tapped again. If you lose a day or two, needless to say, the bubbling has stopped.
And to write every day (or every day that you can) takes discipline and persistence. Discipline to do it, and persistence to see it through to the end of the book and beyond (to getting an agent and publisher). For those who want it badly enough, the thoughts and dreams of reaching that final goal are enough to keep us moving forward. And there are plenty of roadblocks: life, family and friends who don't understand (or worse yet, who don't believe in you), and just the cold, hard truth that writing is hard work. It's lonely work. And if you want to be a published writer, you have to trudge on despite all of this.
Getting that book finished only takes one person believing in you -- just look in the mirror. If you know deep down in your gut that "dammit, this is good; this deserves to be published," then chances are it is and it does. When you write, your passion shows through, and passion can make for some seriously good writing. No one can take your passion away from you -- only you can let them.
I'd still be writing even if I wasn't published, because writing isn't just what I do -- writing is who I am. It's like an addiction, you can't stop, and you don't want to. When I'm not writing, I'm thinking about writing. When I'm writing, I'm happy. When I'm between projects, I can get a little cranky. Just ask my fabulous (and patient and supportive) husband.
Writing for publication is like any other goal worth working and fighting for -- you have to put your nose to the proverbial grindstone and just do the work. Believe me, after struggling for it for over 20 years, it is SO worth it. ; )
Coming up tomorrow: When writing, take it one chapter at a time.
And I've had a request for a blog topic from Shana. She wants to know how Thief of Souls came to be called Magic Lost, Trouble Found, the origins of both titles, how it was changed from one to the other, and why. I'll answer that one soon. And if you have a question you'd like for me to blog on, just email me. lisa@lisashearin.com
Lisa
As I discover every day, no daily writing session stands alone, each hour of work, each day of work ties to the one before--and connects to the one to come after. Writing builds on itself.
With everything we all have going on in our daily lives, brains can only be expected to hold on to a plotline for so long. Let's face it, life gets in the way of writing. Life has an annoying tendency to take our minds away from our characters and make us talk and actually interact (gasp of horror) with living, breathing people. When this happens and I get back to my writing, what momentum I'd built up has gone bye-bye. Dang it! Then I have to take valuable writing time to go back over what I'd done before to bring myself back up to speed.
And it's not just the words that we lose our grasp on when we don't (or can't) write every day. A particular character's emotional state, the emotions they had in the scene where you stopped were right there, bubbling on the surface of your consciousness, ready to be tapped again. If you lose a day or two, needless to say, the bubbling has stopped.
And to write every day (or every day that you can) takes discipline and persistence. Discipline to do it, and persistence to see it through to the end of the book and beyond (to getting an agent and publisher). For those who want it badly enough, the thoughts and dreams of reaching that final goal are enough to keep us moving forward. And there are plenty of roadblocks: life, family and friends who don't understand (or worse yet, who don't believe in you), and just the cold, hard truth that writing is hard work. It's lonely work. And if you want to be a published writer, you have to trudge on despite all of this.
Getting that book finished only takes one person believing in you -- just look in the mirror. If you know deep down in your gut that "dammit, this is good; this deserves to be published," then chances are it is and it does. When you write, your passion shows through, and passion can make for some seriously good writing. No one can take your passion away from you -- only you can let them.
I'd still be writing even if I wasn't published, because writing isn't just what I do -- writing is who I am. It's like an addiction, you can't stop, and you don't want to. When I'm not writing, I'm thinking about writing. When I'm writing, I'm happy. When I'm between projects, I can get a little cranky. Just ask my fabulous (and patient and supportive) husband.
Writing for publication is like any other goal worth working and fighting for -- you have to put your nose to the proverbial grindstone and just do the work. Believe me, after struggling for it for over 20 years, it is SO worth it. ; )
Coming up tomorrow: When writing, take it one chapter at a time.
And I've had a request for a blog topic from Shana. She wants to know how Thief of Souls came to be called Magic Lost, Trouble Found, the origins of both titles, how it was changed from one to the other, and why. I'll answer that one soon. And if you have a question you'd like for me to blog on, just email me. lisa@lisashearin.com
Lisa
posted by Lisa Shearin at
7:56 AM
3 Comments:
All so true, Lisa, so true. Tell me, have you tried the pages/hours per day approach to keeping at it? I set myself a goal of 4 pages a day. I allow myself to miss the goal if I have to do research, or travel to give a talk or a signing, or when I'm sick. Otherwise it's 4 pages.
The low goal means I can go over it if I'm caught up (which I am now), but if not I can still get something done. It's what works for me. I'd be curious to know what you, and other writers, think about it.
I used to have a goal of five pages a day, but now it works better for helping me schedule for a deadline if I set my goals in chapter increments.
My goal is two chapters a week.
I no longer have goals - tends to stress me out (not actually good for my health so I have a valid reason for this! Although if I ever get published, then I'll work to the goals :D)
It's very true - writing is an addiction. The last few weeks it's all I think about. Characters are have now taken to blackmailing me. A wip is always on my mind. I can't think what it was like when I actually had time to think for myself. Seems like a lifetime ago.
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