I'm having a bad case of the February blahs...and I'm badly needing some inspiration from all those wonderful writers out there.
What inspires you to write? How do you get unstuck? When you get halfway through a book and feel like it might be your worst work yet, what helps you wade through the muck? Most importantly, when you're out there querying and getting more than a few rejections, how do you not throw your novel away?
So far, the most rewarding part of writing for me has been becoming a part of this quirky, supportive writing community. You can meet a total stranger, discover that they have a writing hobby and feel instantly connected. You know they've gone through the same wonderment in discovering new characters, discouragement when the book isn't perfect, nervousness at sending out queries, and euphoria at getting positive feedback as you have.
Drop us a comment. Inspire us! Help us turn around the armpit month and make it the best writing month of the year.
6 comments:
You know, I'd love to be better at this. I have to say that walking away and coming back has helped. Also, I've reminded myself how I wanted the story to end and tried to figure out what would help my characters to get there (and what would hinder their progress).
As far as rejections go, there's something that has kept me from throwing my book out the window. I already have had about 7 people read either a partial or all of my book. None are blood relatives (some are in-laws though, but most aren't related at all). None of them hated it. They all love the story. They're all intrigued. I know I have an audience. I just don't want to self-publish to prove it.
When I find that agent who holds sincere interest, I know it'll be the best day that day.
What got my sorry, full-of-excuses body into gear was the NaNoWriMo contest. Having to commit to something and feel responsible for reporting to someone besides just myself has made a huge difference. I'm doing the Picture Book Marathon right now and am loving it.
Carol the writer just announced a marathon in March. I'll get her to post her info here.
Hi!
Come check out my blog:
hungergameseriestheories.blogspot.com
NaNoWriMo helped me to finally start writing again. I reached my goal of writing 50,000 words in a month, and after that I set other goals that were challenging enough to keep me going.
Now what motivates me through revisions is that after all the time I've invested in this story, I have to see if it can reach the potential I visualized. I also discovered how fun writing is, and what satisfaction I feel when I can put on paper (or screen) the words that swirl in my mind to tell a story.
I'd love to get more details about that marathon in March. Nanowrimo is just a hard time of year for me, but March would be much better.
And thanks TJ! I've had some people read my manuscript (some young adults actually) and stay up all night just to finish it, so that's encouraging! Sometimes I wonder if agents/publishers are a little disconnected with their potential audience. But I know there are some good eggs out there and we'll find them!
Tiffany-- info on the marathon is now on the blog.
Post a Comment