In my earlier years, I used to fantasize about the writing life. How cool it would be to work fulltime as a writer of novels. Mostly it involved a phone call telling me a publisher loved my book and wanted to pay me tons of money for it (2010 update: HA HA HA!)
Then a while back I started to think that the present version of The Writing Life, wherein I glue my butt to the seat and work, may be the best part. On the days when I become immersed in my story, grateful for the muse, wondering if an actual Spiritual Entity is sending me messages thru my flying fingers – maybe this is the best part, and I should enjoy it because WHEN I sell my ms, a lot of non-writing work (querying, editing, rewrites, marketing) will ensue. I may no longer levitate above the highest level of Maslow’s Hierarchy.
And to that point, I loved this post by Lev Rafael, The Seven Things Writing Professors Never Tell You. Even though he’s a really successful writer, he’s had his share of awful moments (see #2 and #3 of his post). So now I’m thinking, if it can happen to him and he still walks away with a smile, I guess I can handle it, too. Thanks to Jane Friedman for sharing.
I Love that Deb,”sit down at the computer and open a vein”..about as romantic as training for a marathon!
Lynne: I wonder how many would-be writers are simply enamored of the IDEA of being a writer?? It sounds so wonderful — secluding oneself beside a roaring fireplace in a cabin deep in the woods and jotting down one’s thoughts, or holing up in a coffee shop all day with a laptop, or leaving the world behind and immersing oneself in one’s story with the ocean’s waves alone for company!
But we who ARE writers know that’s the romanticized version. It’s more true that you “sit down at the computer and open a vein”!!
Lynne, You’ve got me thinking- if being a writer was easy, it wouldn’t be as exhilarating, exhausting, satisfying,enlightening,annoying, overwhelming and just plain fun as it is! Plus how else would we be able to meet such gifted,driven and wonderful people as fellow writers? Great post- loved the links!
Kathy
http://krpooler.wordpress.com