Monday, May 2, 2011

Hard work

I know writers have to have a thick skin to handle the criticism and rejection.

Writing is hard work, maybe not back breaking unless you are sitting hunch over for hours at a time, but it still is hard, grueling work.

This weekend, I did my normal yard work, mowing the lawn, etc and it got me thinking how hard writing is.

First of all you have to develop an idea. Sometimes it can just be an image, a word, a place. You will have to take this nugget and throw your own spin onto it, because it can't be like anything else that has ever been developed before. It's got to have your touches, what makes it yours.

After you have spent days, weeks, months, developing the idea, we have to go back and remold it. Usually this isn't as intensive as the first mold, but we need to make it smooth and flawless if we want anyone else to like it.

Then the worst part comes up. You have a perfect little gem that you adore and are ready to share. You have to lock up that small voice telling you that it's not its time because you know in your heart that it is. So you send it out there and it takes its lumps, it comes back dented and chipped. So you go to working those kinks out of the idea.

Now when they are finally out and now the small voice has faded away you send it out to agents. Things can take forever now so you start the process over.

Maybe we're crazy or maybe we're just the harding working individuals in the world. What do you think? Can you relate to the hard work that is making anything writing related? I sure am, and honestly I couldn't picture myself doing anything else.

3 comments:

  1. It is absolutely hard work, but writing is still the best part of my day. Querying is rough (I'm in the process right now), but I'm already working on the next thing. That's how I inoculate myself against the power of rejections... just keep writing. And mowing the lawn is so much more interesting if you are plotting a novel as you go. :)

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  2. yep, I think we're crazy ;)
    If we wanted an easy life, writing isn't the way to go about it ;)

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  3. I agree with you both. Especially the mowing the lawn if it didn't die on me all the time. lol.

    I wish I had queries on my brain, so far, my current project is about 2/3rds done. Just need to plow through to the end.

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