What’s My Line

I had a fellow writer ask me how I get so much done; he was bemoaning that many days he did not feel like writing, and how lucky I was to have so much inspiration.

I had to consider that for awhile. I do feel fortunate that I have stories running all the time. I love thinking about my stories, painting my stories, and researching my story ideas.

I also don’t mind writing them down, but that is work. I positively detest doing the editing. However, all three activities are part of writing. I never have to force myself to come up with story ideas or run them around in my head. It is hard some days though, to write them down. When I start a new novel I know generally where it’s going, but not the specifics. I have times when I get stuck. And like I said, to edit I have to really force the fingers to go.

But I make myself. When I decided writing was going to be my career I treated it as such. When I worked in corporate America I got up every day and went into work; some days I didn’t feel like it, physically or mentally, but I did it anyway. I do the same for writing.

If I’m truly stuck, I have a couple of tricks I use. I might tell myself if I can just get my character to the next place she needs to be I can stop. Most times when I start writing I keep going. Coffee is also a good motivator. :-) If I’m flat out devoid of ideas, there are other things I can do to forward my career; I can check my novels and stories that are at publishers and see how much longer I have to wait, I can send out a rejected story to someone else, I can research new markets, I can write in this blog.

That’s not why I’m writing today, though. Really.

The point is, some days I can write a whole chapter, some days I can’t, but every work day I do something to further my career. If being a published author is your job, that’s what you do, inspiration or not. You don’t want to ping-pong the other way and never leave your seat, but making yourself do something even if you don’t feel like it make you a…writer.