Note the word "in. " My own struggles lead me to add the proviso, "but NOT everyone will get that book out."
"Genius is ninety nine percent perspiration and one percent inspiration" (thank you, Thomas Edison) A lovely thought when applied to the writing of a book. Stamina alone (bar 1%) should get a long, sustained piece of art completed.
So, what about the small matter of:
*Impatience - Re-writing & polishing will take months and I will be going over the same characters again and again and am already feeling somewhat sick and tired of them.
*Lack of faith - Do I really want to invest so much time in a project that may well result in a bundle of paper that will sit gathering dust in a drawer?
*Unwillingness to move on to another project - I enjoy the tag "I'm working on my novel." Dumping it into the bin, even if that's the best place for it, will leave a hole in my life.
*Cold, naked fear - Does all this procrastination prove that I'm not up to writing a novel at all?
This sorry-for-herself, wanna be novelist, who should be working on her novel instead of taking part in a blog challenge, is looking for sympathy.
Any (encouraging) comments hugely welcome.
7 comments:
Mari, I am SOOOO with you.
Why am I doing this challenge when I should be working on my novel. All the points you mention -confidence, procrastination, lack of self esteem... I hear what you're saying.
In fact, you don't realise how close your post hit a chord. Huge sympathy from me in South Shropshire. But sympathy won't get that MS completed. And that's what you want.
I know this, because it's the same for me. And it makes me smile because through all of the mayhem of this challenge and thro' cyber land we have found each other. Kindred spirits.
Lets keep going together. We obviously want to do it.
Come on girl! Get on with that novel.
warm wishes to you
Debbie
x
You can do it! Writing a novel is tough. I am currently editing my first book, but might I add I have 8 diferent drafts of it? Crazy, I know.
You are awesome, being a mom and still finding time to write. And don't worry about all the insecurities. All of us have it. But I am sure you have it in you to push on and finish that novel.
Thank you so much for stopping by and following my blog.
Well, I don't know if I had thought about it more I would have even begun!
I on a last minute whim joined in with last Novembers NanoWriMo and managed to complete 67,000 words! ....then came the rest!!! I whittled it down to 60,000 with my first edit. Went through and re read and tidied up on the second. Now onto the third and hopefully final one.... if I can ever persuade myself to sit down and work on it again. ;-) This editing business leaves a lot to be desired.
But...It is a really amazing feeling to have a finished story, and that is a wonderful reward in itself. :-)
I knew a person who'd written several novels, none of which I'd read, but this person was published and working on several more.
I marveled, not because of this person's brilliance, but because email correspondence with this person suggested that writing competency had ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with being capable of writing a book.
Grammatical mistakes, spelling mistakes, no punctuation, total disregard for anything resembling a complete thought...
If those emails couldn't prove that sheer diligence had more to do with writing a book than anything else, nothing would! :)
Matt Conlon dot com
Matt's Brew Log
Thanks to all for dropping by.
Debbie, so many thanks for the warm words of encouragement. Just what this procrastinator needed!
Murees, lovely to hear from you & know that you are on 8th novel draft...not just me with the re-writing then!
Susannah, 60,000 words is a great achievement. I long to just keep going at it...
Matt, very encouraging story about your novel writer, although sometimes it does seem that imagination & determination rather than writing competency are the more important requirement.
Just keep at it. You only need to write a little bit each day, and you'll be surprised at how fast the book gets done... I'm a firm believer of a little bit each day. We'd all like the luxury of several hours writing time each day, but life has to happen as well. So, little baby steps.
This iis a great post thanks
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