Writing is like a rollercoaster, some days you’re up and some days you’re down. No other activity gets me this involved and emotional.
Writing Routine
Thousands of web pages give advice on writing routines, when to write, how long to write, how many pages, not too much, not too little. Some say you should write every day and some say, you should take time off to rest. Aside from the advice columns there are the authors describing their writing schedules. Now it gets really weird. Some authors and we are talking published, well-known writers write in the shower – how do they do this without getting everything wet – on a typewriter, in a coma-like state of day and night writing. As varied as the written word – that’s also the name of our writers group – as varied are the habits of authors.
I think every individual will decide for themselves what schedule works best. It only becomes a problem if the writer can’t write. This avoidance behavior, also called writer’s block, leads authors down the path of spring-cleaning, taking out garbage, sorting office files, paying bills and doing yard-work. All meant to distract from the fact that they should sit in front of their computer, laptop or paper pad to create a story.
Anyway, I write every other day to allow time to work outside the home – yes I still have to and want to keep my writing, even though it’s copywriting fresh – and no, I am considering my stories a labor of love and not work.
Disappearance Act
Writing makes me disappear from earth. I get so involved when I am spinning my characters and their mishaps that I forget the time, the chair I sit on, my dog who snores on her bed next to me, the phone, even Facebook and e-mail. Nothing matters. By the time, I resurface my back hurts, my mouth is dry and I am starving. Isn’t it strange how the brain lets us escape?
Mood Swings
The worst parts about writing are mood swings. No, I always feel great when I write. I love it. It’s power in my fingers. My characters must sweat, ache, cry and suffer and I am enjoying their struggles. I mean the bad feelings that surface when I am sending out chapters or researching agents and publishers. And wait for the decline letters or the silence which also means “no, thank you.†The doubts that nag deep down about how well I write and how good my stories are and if indeed anyone would want to read them. Yet, I keep going. And feel good again.