I admit today’s quote that I found to explain how my writing path is going is a bit dreary, which is why I chose the uplifting picture to go with it. Because writing, no matter what type of project, is a long and arduous task. You will have up days, you will have down days. You will have days that you feel like a failure no matter how many times people tell you they love your work.
If writing was easy, more people would stop talking about it and actually sit down and do it.
This quote is true. Some people actually love to write. It’s not that I don’t love it, but it is a struggle, and I do it because I’m driven to do it. And yet no matter how many “bad writing days” I have, I have many other good ones.
I got my edits back from my editor, so I’ve been writing and editing at the same time. Writing one story while editing another is probably not a good idea and never easy, but it’s how I work best. I’ve been trying to plot a lot, which is never a good thing for me. It never works out for me when I try to plot, and I’ve gotten stuck more times than I could admit when I try to plot. Even a simple plot outline tends to get me stuck, unless I’m very deep into my story already.
It’s important to go with what works for you. If you can’t start a story without a title, don’t listen to anyone’s advice about how you should do this or that first. Every writer is different. I keep telling myself that plotting is going to make my life easier, my story flow better, but I have more down days, more days where I struggle trying to tell a story, when I try to plot first. I wish it weren’t so. I don’t know how many plotters wish they were pantsers, but I know a lot of pantsers who wish they were plotters, me being one of them. I constantly have to remind myself that it doesn’t work for me, so stop trying to make it work.
This whole week was one of those times I felt like a failure, like giving up. And you will face days where you feel like a failure, feel like giving up. It’s hard to work full time and write, but then, it’s harder to give it up. Believe me, I know, I’ve tried it before and wasted years of struggle while not following my writing path.
So today’s writer’s tip is to keep going. Change your perspective if you must. And do what works for you! Me? I decided to get away from my computer, grab my notebook, and head outside.