Magicday…JUST DO IT

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being a writer, enjoy, just write, overthinking, writing

Happy Monday! Less than one week until Christmas!

Kids go to school today and tomorrow and then they’re home for two weeks. And since I’ve trained them to ignore me, it will be great!

That is magic in itself, but I am here to celebrate the mystical fantastical magic that can happen when one stops overthinking and JUST DOES THE THING! This works for all sorts of life moments, but especially for me and the writing.

If you know me, you know that I am an overthinker. I won’t get things done because I’m so wrapped up in the how and why and WHAT IF I MESS IT UP thoughts twirling in my head. So I get nothing done.

I have a writer friend, who has the same problem. She has words of wisdom, WISE WISE WORDS!

NO THINKIES, JUST ENJOYSIES. Just write. Don’t think. Don’t try to plan. Listen to the story, let it flow. ENJOY THE PROCESS!

Shovel sand in the sandbox so you can build your castle.

Sit. Power up the laptop. Resist Twitter. OPEN WORD DOC. Write words.

This is the magic.

When I don’t think about what I am going to do, what I might mess up, what I have left, what I don’t know, I can write the words. Without the words, I have nothing. So if I can work my magic and stop my brain from interfering, I’m golden…well, maybe not gold, but a shiny-ish silver.

Hear that, brain? Stop thinking. We can do that later in revisions.

 

A Writer’s Brain

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being a writer, characters, crazy minds, differences, life of a writer, writers, writing

The inner workings of a writer’s mind is a strange and wonfabutastic thing. The crazy thought processes. The characters that won’t stop talking. The way we interpret the world.

Every once in a while, I stop and wonder at the weirdness.

Every writers’ work process is different. Plotting or pantsing. Word count goals or merely hoping for one more word. Write early in the morning or late at night. A set schedule or tossing the plan out the window.

Yet, so many things tie us together. The way life can throw us off. The way the characters can draw us back in. The way we can get lost in the worlds we create.

I haven’t worked on Doors 3 for… a while. I mean who’s counting? Not me. There were distractions. The call of short stories, you know I can’t resist. Well, one was submitted and rejected. Oh well. I submitted another last weekend. Fingers crossed, kids. I also went through another short, but that one isn’t clicking, so I left myself some great notes (I’m sure I won’t be able to interpret later) and moved on.

Well, moved back. Back to Bryn and her adventures through the doors. Back to her friends Ith, Akk, Cal, and Creech. Back to a universe full of every world imaginable. I love it there. Going back always takes me a minute of reading what I wrote, thumbing through my mess of notes, of remembering. Yet, no matter how long I’ve been gone, the characters welcome me. They want their story told.

Isn’t that cool!?!?!?!! I set the story aside, but when I picked it back up, BAM!, I fall in love all over again. HOW DOES THAT WORK?!!?!?

Doors 3 crossed 10,000 words last night. I always feel pretty good when I hit that number. There’s so much left, but I can’t focus on how far I have to go, only the next scene, the next paragraph…sentence…word. That’s how books are built.

No more distractions. No more leaving to go write other things. I’ve had my short story fun and now I will finish Doors 3. How long? Who knows. I’m just going to keep chugging along. That’s what writers do. We all have different routines, different ways to write, different inspirations, but we all listen to the voices in our heads. No matter how frustrated, we love it and return to the words as often as we can. The words always welcome us back.

Writing vs. Being a Writer

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being a writer, CPs, critique, editing, jobs, learning, publishing, thoughts, writing

Writing. Being a writer.

What does it mean? Because when I started writing (aka… typing words about stuff that I made up in my twisted brain) about eleven years ago, I had NOT A CLUE.

There’s writing. You sit. You type words. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. Easy. And that makes you a writer. Yup. I buy this.

And you can do this forever. Sit. Write. Sit. Write… for all time.

But there’s this other level of ‘being a writer’. A writer’s job is not what I first believed.

Above all, a writer writes. There is much sitting and pondering and possibly weeping… There is much planning and plotting and the occasional urge to chuck a computer out the window. There is excitement, which turns to frustration, which can cause mass consumption of (insert junk food of choice here).

As I take bigger, more confident steps into the world of being a writer, of being published, I have learned that the job requires SO MUCH MORE.

I focus on my own works, my manuscripts. Character development. World building. Finding and destroying filter words, passive voice, and making the words the best they can be.

I help other people with their words. Critiques are a huge part of a writer’s work. I am part of a writers’ group in town and a Skype group. I have numerous CPs and spend hours reading and commenting on others’ manuscripts. I love it! And hope I help a little.

Maintaining a presence on social media… blog, FB, GR, Twitter… all help get your name out into the world. Because, marketing… my least favorite part of the job. However, on the flipside, I LOVE spreading the word about books, new or old! Cover reveals. Release days.

(By the way… FINDING IMMORTAL book 2 in the Bearwood series in out TODAY! Just FYI…)

*whistles* Anyway…

Reading. Probably safe to say, one of the best things about this job. And of course after you finish a book… leave a review.

And the biggest part? Waiting. For rejections. For acceptance. For edit notes. For contracts. For big announcement days. For everything. With self-pubbing there is less of this. For people working with agents, editors, and publishers… we wait. A lot. It’s hard.

An author’s job is never done. Once you get a project off, there’s always another lurking in your mind ready to pounce. Writing. Editing. Querying. Reading. Everything sucks our life force dry!

Well, that was dramatic.

As I set foot on the path to publication, I prepare myself for the learning of all the things. And the kinda doing well and failing miserably parts.

Possibly you should shoot me now.

Guest posting on blogs… working with an editor (I am not worried about this cause she’s awesome!)… working with a cover designer (who is also fabulous! So no worries)… and so much about marketing that my head might explode. Luckily, the team (more like a family) at Reuts Publications to help me when I fall on my face. Cause I will.

For all of us out there being writers… I am proud to say we are some of the most supportive people in the world. This job we’ve chosen (some people with day jobs of doom to contend with too) is not an easy one. There’s so much more to do than simply write. All of it takes time, energy, and a love of what we do.

LOVE IT!

DO IT!

WRITERS UNITE!