Years ago I met someone who was a book coach. Apparently, Very Famous Writers who have written bestselling novels have many of the same struggles. They literally cannot write books without a professional to help them develop their ideas and keep them focused and working. I try to remember that when the struggle bus has just completely run me over dealing with life and writing. Thank you so much, Kerry, for posting this reminder that writing is just *hard.* And I totally agree that in part it's the silence that greets posting that is hard to move through and keep going. But we're still here, doing the thing, learning to love the process. 💖
That's an incredibly good point and an essential reminder. Here we are thinking that there's something wrong with us while so many authors and writers simply had the help and resources available to get the job done. Thank you for this sentiment as it helped me be less critical of where I am. With this in mind, dare I say we're all actually doing pretty amazing with the progress we've made?
I dare say I agree with you completely! Continuing the work, putting it out there, and sitting down at the desk over and over deserves as much credit as the finishing part.
Kerry ai do believe you already have produced work that touches hearts and minds. I love to write so much it kinda flows out of me on demand a lot of times. My problem is more about being succinct..not including too many segues that dont serve the plot. I dont see that in your writing. If anything I occassionally want more details of these fantastic worlds and characters you are creating. More tie-ins maybe. Seems to me writing is often part time work as our money producing jobs take precedence. Some good food for thought in your article. Thanks
You are too kind. That's a beautiful modality of writing. I wish it were like that for me all of the time. Writing surely is part time work, but occasionally i think a couple of people see us and we wish we could be there for them full time. I wish I had timeto fortify this venture. We're all doing the best we can with what we have and I suppose thats enough.
I keep reading about people who make the world better, or perhaps "bring the light" merely by their presence. Of course we want to "do" and "produce", but sometimes one's presence adds more than we ever know. Not that we shouldn't keep "doing" and "producing"...lol
I relate to the 'own motivator' point. There's almost always a deafening silence whenever I post a new chapter, and it does a lot to sap my excitement.
I've gotten accustomed over the years the hand-wringing phase of the writing process. Composition teacher Peter Elbow called this phase "Nausea." It's all part of the process!
You’re not alone in this. I love the point you made by people need to be told what to like. I hate that. Unless you get a co-sign by a bigger fish your work goes unnoticed. That feeling is sometimes discouraging. What I struggle with is the comparison game. I fully believe in my ability, but the second guessing comes up way too often when I read other people’s work.
That reminds me of one of my tips on a post I wrote about advice on writing, which was to surrender to it. I think that some of the best pieces are written like this, however, there does need to be some structure and no plot holes. That's what editing is for though, I suppose. I am pretty neurotic about things and need a plan of attack, but the aspects to my writing that require nuance and immersive elements to the plot, that's just a whole lot of daydreaming right there lol.
I struggle with thinking my writing is good. I feel like if I’d apologize to my beta readers for the first draft of my Novel.
All respect to you - I have struggled infinitely with these issues.
It's comforting to know I'm not the only one.
Years ago I met someone who was a book coach. Apparently, Very Famous Writers who have written bestselling novels have many of the same struggles. They literally cannot write books without a professional to help them develop their ideas and keep them focused and working. I try to remember that when the struggle bus has just completely run me over dealing with life and writing. Thank you so much, Kerry, for posting this reminder that writing is just *hard.* And I totally agree that in part it's the silence that greets posting that is hard to move through and keep going. But we're still here, doing the thing, learning to love the process. 💖
That's an incredibly good point and an essential reminder. Here we are thinking that there's something wrong with us while so many authors and writers simply had the help and resources available to get the job done. Thank you for this sentiment as it helped me be less critical of where I am. With this in mind, dare I say we're all actually doing pretty amazing with the progress we've made?
I dare say I agree with you completely! Continuing the work, putting it out there, and sitting down at the desk over and over deserves as much credit as the finishing part.
Kerry ai do believe you already have produced work that touches hearts and minds. I love to write so much it kinda flows out of me on demand a lot of times. My problem is more about being succinct..not including too many segues that dont serve the plot. I dont see that in your writing. If anything I occassionally want more details of these fantastic worlds and characters you are creating. More tie-ins maybe. Seems to me writing is often part time work as our money producing jobs take precedence. Some good food for thought in your article. Thanks
You are too kind. That's a beautiful modality of writing. I wish it were like that for me all of the time. Writing surely is part time work, but occasionally i think a couple of people see us and we wish we could be there for them full time. I wish I had timeto fortify this venture. We're all doing the best we can with what we have and I suppose thats enough.
I keep reading about people who make the world better, or perhaps "bring the light" merely by their presence. Of course we want to "do" and "produce", but sometimes one's presence adds more than we ever know. Not that we shouldn't keep "doing" and "producing"...lol
I relate to the 'own motivator' point. There's almost always a deafening silence whenever I post a new chapter, and it does a lot to sap my excitement.
It's quite a lonely experience to be honest.
I've gotten accustomed over the years the hand-wringing phase of the writing process. Composition teacher Peter Elbow called this phase "Nausea." It's all part of the process!
You’re not alone in this. I love the point you made by people need to be told what to like. I hate that. Unless you get a co-sign by a bigger fish your work goes unnoticed. That feeling is sometimes discouraging. What I struggle with is the comparison game. I fully believe in my ability, but the second guessing comes up way too often when I read other people’s work.
That reminds me of one of my tips on a post I wrote about advice on writing, which was to surrender to it. I think that some of the best pieces are written like this, however, there does need to be some structure and no plot holes. That's what editing is for though, I suppose. I am pretty neurotic about things and need a plan of attack, but the aspects to my writing that require nuance and immersive elements to the plot, that's just a whole lot of daydreaming right there lol.
I like your process, thank you for commenting.