It's Not Easy Being a Writer {WriterlyWednesday}

 

So I was originally planning on doing another You Name-Caller! post today. It was going to be about historically correct middle ages names. I started doing some research on it, but quickly dumped the whole thing when it began consuming too much of my evening writing time. Maybe I'll continue it when I have acquired some more patience. I mean, seriously, did you ever think about how hard it is to get reliable, accurate information on popular names of the medieval era? I'm not talking about medieval fantasy names (which we covered last time). I'm talking names of people who actually lived then.

 

It's not quite as easy as looking up popular 1860's names.

 

And that brings me to what I decided to talk about instead, today.

 

Easy.

 

 

It's not easy being a writer.

 

Sometimes we have our euphoric moments of almost-Divine inspiration. Sometimes, we find ourselves chucking out thousands of words in an hour. Winning every word war. Feeling a great satisfaction about your work because you are aware of your encouraging progress on it.

 

Sometimes.

 

Most of the time? This scenario is only an idealistic daydream.

 

Let's face it, people. If you are writing a book(or screenplay, for that matter), and dead serious about getting it finished and published, than the trip's not going to be smooth. You're going to have multiple trials and tribulations, and buckets full of blood and sweat to boot. What am I getting at? This is merely figurative lingo for a simple reality: You're going to kill your emotions. You're going to kill your mental energy, and if you don't watch out, even your physical demeanor will also be affected.

 

Writing a quality book or screenplay is a taxing task, a huge aspiration, and few make it to becoming a New York Times' Bestseller.

 

I'll have you know, I'm certainly not bashing the art of authoring something. Not at ALL. Truth is, I adore writing and can't seem to get enough of it. I have spent countless hours on my writing projects over the years.

 

 

I'm just stressing the fact that you can't expect the trip to be all fun and games. At some point or another you will fall into ruts and ditches.  You will experience writers' block, lack of inspiration and motivation, or you will probably find yourself just fed up with your WIP altogether. As much as I love my characters to death, there's a flip side. As much as I love the plot in my screenplay, I have spent crazy amounts of time and energy, pouring my all my being into its completion. After several months, (or, with The Rebels of Florida, almost five years) this process can become very old, tiresome, and even plain boring.

 

Sometimes you wonder if you have any mental energy left at all. Sometimes you feel like you've deprived your brain of all creativity, from hours of brainstorming, or working the details of a problem scene that just doesn't seem to fall into place with everything else you've written so far.

 

Sometimes you feel like your brain has been tossed on a skillet and fried to a crisp.  And, sometimes, you feel like you just want to climb back into bed and forget about the whole morass altogether.

 

It's not easy being a writer.

 

You gotta have guts. You gotta have discipline, and loads of it. You gotta have good time managing skills. You gotta be tough as nails.

 

But while there is indeed an immense challenge to starting what you finish, as a writer, and keep plugging along even on the toughest of days, I think the challenge is part of what makes it so appealing. To finish such a project well, only results in immense satisfaction.

 

Keep going. Don't procrastinate. If you're still single/living at home, like I am, then you are probably blessed with time that many people do not have.

Don't give up. Develop a love for learning new things and you will find inspiration in places you never dreamed qualified for the topic. Try your hardest and write your best. Don't give your WIP left-overs or mediocre quality.

 

Use what time you have wisely and by no means will your project be a failure.

 

Have a blessed Wednesday!