A Writing State of Mind
I can remember back when I first started writing with even a hint of seriousness sometime around 1993. It was so hard to find time and keep my focus. Weeks would go by when I wouldn't write a word, culminating in an almost eight year hiatus starting in 2006.
We moved to Raleigh in the summer of 2006, and I threw myself completely into work. I literally wrote nothing from Spring, 2006 to January, 2014. That isn't to say the ideas weren't running around in my head - they were. I just wasn't writing them down.
Over those years, my health began to deteriorate. Now, I won't say this health downturn was entirely because I wasn't writing - I had high stress jobs, sometimes more than one at a time. All I can say is this: as soon as I went back to writing, my mental and physical health improved dramatically.
At this point, I can't imagine even slowing down on my writing. If I don't write at least a page every day, I get irritable. If I can spend eight hours writing, I'm absolutely euphoric.
I read posts online, and I know that a lot of you struggle with getting into "A Writing State of Mind." Things happen: we hit a block, we get a bad review, somebody makes a comment that has us questioning our ability. Everyone has these things happen, and there is only one solution, only one way to get through it: you must write.
If you're blocked, go around it - write a different part of the book, or write something completely different for a while. Most of the time, you're blocked because your characters haven't figured a way out of the predicament you've put them in. Give them time, let them figure it out and show you the way.
That nagging voice that is whining in the back of your head after a bad review or criticism - you know, the one saying, "Maybe you're just not good enough?" Push it away, bury it under sentences, paragraphs, and chapters.
Because, the truth is: if you can write something that even one person wants to read, you are good enough. And, with each word, you get better.
We moved to Raleigh in the summer of 2006, and I threw myself completely into work. I literally wrote nothing from Spring, 2006 to January, 2014. That isn't to say the ideas weren't running around in my head - they were. I just wasn't writing them down.
Over those years, my health began to deteriorate. Now, I won't say this health downturn was entirely because I wasn't writing - I had high stress jobs, sometimes more than one at a time. All I can say is this: as soon as I went back to writing, my mental and physical health improved dramatically.
At this point, I can't imagine even slowing down on my writing. If I don't write at least a page every day, I get irritable. If I can spend eight hours writing, I'm absolutely euphoric.
I read posts online, and I know that a lot of you struggle with getting into "A Writing State of Mind." Things happen: we hit a block, we get a bad review, somebody makes a comment that has us questioning our ability. Everyone has these things happen, and there is only one solution, only one way to get through it: you must write.
If you're blocked, go around it - write a different part of the book, or write something completely different for a while. Most of the time, you're blocked because your characters haven't figured a way out of the predicament you've put them in. Give them time, let them figure it out and show you the way.
That nagging voice that is whining in the back of your head after a bad review or criticism - you know, the one saying, "Maybe you're just not good enough?" Push it away, bury it under sentences, paragraphs, and chapters.
Because, the truth is: if you can write something that even one person wants to read, you are good enough. And, with each word, you get better.
Inspiring words, Tony! Made me think about my own writing. Thanks for the encouragement!
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