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| Artwork: Mike Maihack |
Christmas is coming! The emails for holiday book events are piling up in my inbox. Some of my best events are during the holidays, but it just adds more stress to an already stressful time.
When I get all balled up in promotion, I sometimes forget
why I’m doing this in the first place. I long ago accepted my writing would
never make me rich or famous, but a few bucks and a few fans mean a lot, so the
promo must go on. What also must go on is the writing, itself. The story must
continue, because that’s what it’s all about.
I love writing, though it isn’t terribly easy for me.
After a stint at the computer, I feel like I’ve hauled a few truckloads of hay,
then run a five-mile marathon. Carted a boulder up a steep hill. But I love
that boulder and will do it again soon as my mind recovers enough to carry on.
(The purring cat on my lap reminds me to mention that writing is a perfect
opportunity to spend time with a favorite feline, as long as you don’t plan on
moving too much.)
So even now I am being distracted from my stories. Blogs,
announcements, posts, event pages, not to mention the daily living stuff like vacuuming
and feeding the cats. All important, all reaching out to me like needy children
vying for attention.
“Yes, kiddies, “ I say to the chorus of demanding cries. “All
will be done in its own time.”
I press save,
exit the program, turn away from the computer, and—tea in hand—move to my internet-less
laptop which is where the stories happen.
The cat follows me, curling up for a quiet nap.
Check out more blogs by Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer at:
Happy reading!
The more we care about writing the harder it becomes because it matters to us. I'm a habitual procrastinator so I had to come up with a work plan. Some authors can write only when inspired. That would not be me. I would just sit and stare out the window daydreaming all day if that were the case. I treat it like a work day and write from 7:00am until 10:00am every day. If I'm on a roll I might continue writing after 10:00am. The more I write, the more inspired I become. I have to write down ideas for stories so I don't forget them. I resist going on the internet until I've done my work.
ReplyDeletePromotion is a bugaboo for many of us. Sometimes it almost seems pointless. But we must do it all the same. Blogs are somewhat successful if I can get attention with a nifty title, but my best success comes from Twitter and Facebook. Twitter is a little more straight forward thanks to the help of Kaye Spencer who gave us a good way to get the word out and make it interesting with those limited words. Facebook is more like social interaction with a tiny bit of promotion from time to time.
Royalties help me determine what works as far as promotion. Sometimes it's just about the general economy and people being distracted from reading on their electronical doodads. Getting a comment or a letter from a fan is probably the most exciting for me because it tells me my stories must be good. I love having a dialogue with other writers. I can learn so much from others and their eyes don't glaze over when I talk shop. LOL
The only thing I don't like about writing is the time in between projects unless I'm deep in research. Not writing makes me feel uneasy and a little bit crazy.
This was a great article to get us all thinking about our craft. Thanks Mollie!
I also write every day, if possible. It is the highpoint of my day. And I'm never between projects anymore since I'm writing a series with several stories going at a time. But I remember before I began the series, when I wasn't writing, things would feel a bit off. Then I'd remember, Oh yeah, not getting that creative vacation of the mind.
DeleteI write when the mood hits me. That might be on a piece of paper while I'm in the kitchen or at my computer or in a notebook while I'm watching a movie. I never write a story from first word to last word sequentially. I write in scenes and weave the scenes together as the story develops. I've tried to write during a set time and for a set amount of time, but it doesn't work for me. It's so interesting to me that we all have certain ways that work for us.
ReplyDeleteYes, we really are all different in the process, but I think the drive is the same.
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