Last month I took a trip to Denmark with my wife and oldest
son. Less than a week after we returned we bought a new puppy. Those two events
have combined to form a direct assault against my writing time. And not just
against my time—against my will to write. Denmark was exhausting, super fun and
a fantastic experience, but exhausting. Our new puppy as sweet as she is
demands my time; time that if I don’t give now I won’t be able to make it up
later. So, instead of hands on the keyboard, for more than a month now, I’ve
been spinning my wheels simply mulling my novel around inside my head. And it’s
killing me, just not enough to get me to do something about it.
Even though I haven’t felt like writing I’ve forced myself
to read during short bursts of free time. I’m almost finished with Wolf Mark. I enjoyed all The Night of the Owls comic books (Scott
Snyder is one of my new idols), and I’m catching up on Avengers vs X-Men (AvX). In addition, I’ve been watching some TV
while matching wits with our ten-week-old cocker spaniel pup; my favorite show
right now is The Legend of Korra (I
still need to go back and watch the Avatar series, that’s still on my todo
list).
It’s times like this when inspiration comes in unpredictable
ways and from unpredictable sources. While skimming my twitter feed last week I
stumbled on four blogs that really inspired me—there were many, many others but
these four each gave me something I desperately needed to get my writing motor
going again.
Mette Ivie Harrison jumpstarted my desire to write in this post.
I know it’s a tumblr but it looks like a blog post to me. (note to self: Do I
need a tumblr? Do some research.) I constantly struggle with comparing myself
to other writers, not only in quality but in my ability to produce. I feel like
I write so slowly. Mette’s words captured what I think is a great way to combat
the doubts and fears I’ve been having about my own writing:
“In order to get the actual work done, the best thing to
think of is of myself as a worker. Just like I can get on a bike and put down x
number of miles at a certain pace, I can sit down and write the words that tell
my story. They may tell the story well or badly. But my job is to get them down first of all. Then my second job is to
figure out which ones are the right ones and which ones aren’t and try to
figure out better ones if I can. If I can’t, I do my best.
“In the end, that’s all I can do. My best. I can’t write like someone else. I
can’t write with pressure on me about how great or horrible it is. It’s just
putting words to the page. Bricks and mortar. Stirring eggs up for an omelet.
Putting one foot in front of another. There’s no magic in the actual creating
of the words, not really. …”
What Mette says makes absolute sense, all I can be is myself,
my best. So I have to struggle, work, revise, and above all else finish. Fast
or slow what matters most is that I finish. Hey, someone should write a fable
about that.
Number 2: On
Television and Writing
Kiersten White wrote this post after suffering from a fever
for a couple of days. I guess you could call what I’ve been experiencing with
my writing somewhat like a fever, a sort of mental fever. Anyway, even though I
haven’t watched all the TV shows she talks about, some because I want to but
haven’t got around to them, and others because my personal tastes are
different, I think her analysis is very insightful. And I like her voice. I
attended one of Kiersten’s sessions at LDS Storymakers last month and really
enjoyed her practical tips there too.
Sometimes learning about good and bad writing by watching TV
is all I can do. It’s not as good as writing, but it’s better than doing
nothing. By the way, before reading her post I already had plans to watch the
Avatar series, but Kiersten’s post bumped that task up in priority.
Number 3: 25
Things Writers Should Stop Doing
Chuck Wendig wrote this one. And I just noticed it’s kind of
old, at least in Internet time. It was posted Jan 3, 2012. I can’t remember who
tweeted it last week, but whoever did thank you, the timing was perfect for me.
All twenty five of these suggestions are excellent. I’m taking Chuck’s advice
to yell them at myself—my blog post will serve as a permanent reminder of this
moment. Several hit me right when and where I needed them to. Like #1 Stop Running Away and #2 Stop Stopping, these two hooked me
from the very beginning. Then he reeled me in with #5 Stop Hurrying and #6 Stop
Waiting. Finally he served me up on a platter with #7 Stop Thinking It Should Be Easier, #14 Stop Playing It Safe, and
#23 Stop Leaving Yourself Off The Page. He wrote a paragraph of detail for
each one, but most of them don’t need a lot of extra explanation. I only wish I’d
seen this back in January and taped a copy to my laptop.
Chuck’s language is forceful and direct, you’ve been warned,
but it’s exactly what I needed. It’s always good to know I’m not the only one
who’s ever felt this way. Chuck has loads of writing advice, some a lot more
recent than the post I cited above. I need to dive into more of what he has to
offer—one more task added to my list.
This one is a guest post by Susan Adrian on the blog distraction no. 99. Susan tells her
story about quitting writing and then finding writing again in a new light. She said:
“I’d rediscovered my joy. In writing, in telling a story, in
creating characters that live and breathe and make their own decisions and
mistakes, but find their way. I was a writer. I’d tried to stop, but I
couldn’t. It’s who I am.”
And she was inspired by a TV show—something I can relate to.
She finishes her post about the new book she’s writing with this:
“I hope someday you’ll get to read it too. But even if you
don’t, I’ll still be here. Writing.”
What a great ending. I feel exactly the same way.
My writing life is filled with ups and downs. Thankfully
there are plenty of people out there struggling, sharing, writing and reaching
out a helping hand to point me back in an upward direction each time I hit one
of the inevitable lows.
Here’s a summary of
the lessons I relearned this week:
- Do the work, get the words down first and foremost. And remember I can’t write like someone else. It’s ok to simply be me.
- TV can be inspiring. Pay attention to what you like, what works. And also pay attention to what doesn’t work in order to avoid the same mistakes.
- I want to stop playing it safe. (This statement is weak isn’t it? It’s laden with excuses for failure before I even get started. I know. I’m going to work on this one, to figure out the safest risk to take ;-). Sorry it’s the best I can do right now.)
- I hope someday you’ll get to read my novel too. But even if you don’t I’ll still be here. Writing.
I can think of no greater compliment for my own writing than
for a single person to say you affected me, you helped me, you inspired me.
These writers inspired me! I cannot thank them enough.
It feels good to be back in the chair hands on keyboard.
What inspires you? What do you do when you don’t feel like
writing?
