KEEPING THE FUN IN WRITING
One thing that has always mattered to me is that the majority of writing should be fun. Now I know that as an author, writing is also my job, and not everyone sees every part of their job as fun. I personally am not fond of the professional edit. I'm lukewarm when it comes to revisions, but I do both of those things anyway because they are part of my job, and I have to do them.
But the part of the job that I do, mostly, see as fun, is the drafting. Now I know there are writers who hate drafting and much prefer revision or editing, and that's okay, that's valid, and you gotta do what works for you, but since I'm talking about keeping the fun in writing and, for me, that's in drafting, I'm gonna focus on that, but feel free to substitute that with whatever phase of the process you love most!
As I said, this is my day job, it's my full-time gig. I am a full-time author, though full disclosure, it does not, as of yet, pay me full-time. I don't want to give the impression that I'm rolling in it and that's why it's full-time. I have been very lucky to be in a position where I can call this my job, and I do work hard at making sure everything is done right, and in a timely manner.
For example, when it comes to drafting, and because I'm an indie author, I know that the only deadlines I really have to meet are the ones I've set myself. Editing and revision are a different beast in that I have people relying on my to do the work, so that needs to be a bit more strict. This means that I can, should I wish to, write once a week, do nothing more, and spend the rest of the time doing other things. I know that doesn't sound like something I would do, but my point is, that because of knowing that I'm able to plan my time, choose where my energy goes, and enjoy myself along the way.
I'm not going to sit here and say that every single day is full of fun filled times and that I enjoy writing every single chapter. I don't. There are sometimes many days in a row when every sentence feels like pulling teeth, and every chapter takes forever, and the anxiety is there in the pit of my stomach reminding me that I have to do this and I have to keep moving forward otherwise terrible things await. (They usually don't, but anxiety is like that, an overdramatic person.)
But, for the most part, I enjoy my work. I love getting to sit there for an hour or so and just lose myself in fiction. If I feel like something needs changing, it gets changed. If I feel like the story needs to go another way, same, it can do that. I have been writing for a very long time. I started seriously when I was 19 and I'm now 42, so over half my life has been spent living in other worlds and I love my job. (I did a piece about that here)
I love getting to be creative and have it be a massive part of my life, but there are some times when I have to remind myself of all of that, to keep that fun in the writing. After all, if I let myself trickle down that dark path of not enjoying my work, or my currents WIP, then I find myself in a funk that is hard to shake. It's one of the reasons I find the professional edit so difficult because I end up n that dark path a whole lot. I get over it though, and I am, usually, drafting along side which helps me find that balance.
So whatever makes the work fun, try and keep doing that as much as you're able, and keep writing your stories!
Any questions? Lemme know in the comments!
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