Those are my two main stumbling blocks as a writer. It's usually one or the other that keeps getting in my way. I must confess, it can be difficult to find the confidence to keep writing when peers achieve success before you have. That's when Doubt settles on my shoulder and whispers in a sneaky voice, " See, I TOLD you you're no good. Why are you wasting your time writing when you can be doing something more useful?" Doubt can be very insistent, sapping you of your creativity, your will. That's usually when I step back and admit I am powerless over Doubt. It just has to run its course until my sheer love of writing resurfaces. It's a cycle with me. Doubt—back off—refuel...dive back in. Oddly, when I back off, ideas start to flow into my head and I have a good laugh at myself. So what if I stink? So what if I'm unpublishable. I'm loving this! It's a passion, an obsession, a high I can't live with out.
This is just about the time I run into my greater foe. TIME. I want to write and I can't. Life gets in the way, Parenting, work, you name it. I try to make time to write every day if I can, but my output is greatly curtailed when the semester is in session. It's that old hamster tread for me; a never ending battle to keep things in perspective and in balance. My writing is a work in progress and so am I.
2 comments:
Hey Lisa, like your collective blog. I have a crit group and we're setting up our group blog once we finish critting all our books... first things first... anyhoo, saw your comment in NB's blog about dueling first person POVS - have you gotten comments on that from agents/editors? I'm just starting my marketing forays and have the same set-up... (but not YA, though borderline - the college/grad school set). Also, SO resonated with this post - I'm a prof, a mom, and a woman passionately in love with writing, too - are you my twin? Somedays, it's hard to prioritize...Peace, Linda
Cool Linda! So you found me from NB's blog? What a great guy. He's so funny and much nicer than Miss Snark. Actually when I posted that I was a little sore about a rejection on a partial that complained about the two POVs. I really couldn't understand that because there's so much out there like that. Anyway, oddly later the same night, the agent who has the full let me know she LOVES it. No offers yet, but apparently no worries from her about ping-ponging POVs.
What are you a professor of? I'm actually a graphic designer professor and writing is my guilty secret. But I will come clean as soon as I have something to show for myself. I wanted to be taken seriously by my colleagues, and not be known as someone who has gone off the deep end. Hey, graphic designers work with words, so it's not that far off.
Keep us posted (ha!) for when your blog debuts and stop back again!
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