Okay, so if you’re a
reader, you might not be laughing, but if you’re an author, I know you must understand
this.
Without a doubt, I can knock
out a first draft of a 70k-word novel in two months. On any given ‘writing’
day, I can type two to three thousand words, and I work five days a week. No…that
doesn’t mean my manuscript is ready to publish. Far from it! Editing takes
another month. Then there’s the beta readers’ feedback, cover design, marketing
decisions… Overall, though, most full-time authors can publish a novel every
quarter, if they really want to, if they have an idea.
Unless…and here’s the
hard part. We have to actually be able to have those productive ‘writing’ days
mentioned above. Sadly, I spend so much of my day ‘thinking’ about writing,
that I don’t actually write.
Yes, part of my day is
spent chatting with readers—I love that—and then I do have to spend some time
marketing my book. I also run a couple book blogs where I promote up to six
books a day, so that does eat up some of my time too. But if I’m being honest—and
not just looking for an excuse not to write—I have my daily routine of
chatting and marketing down to two to three hours a day, which leaves me five
hours a day to write.
And what am I doing now?
I’m writing a blog post about why I’m not writing. It seems I’ll find just
about anything to keep me away from writing.
Why?
Well, as I said above, I’m
‘thinking’ about writing. It’s not that I don’t want to write. On the contrary,
I love writing. Admittedly, I love to write more than just about anything else
I do. But...I’m a pantser, and the bad thing about pantsers is that we can’t
write an outline. I’ve tried. I swear I have. Nada, Zilch, Zero comes out. So,
here I sit. Think, think, thinking about writing. I’ve also read and reread my
WIP so many times up to this point that I can almost recite it audibly. I just
don’t know where to go with my story, and no, it’s not writer’s block. I have
fifteen different ways from sideways that I can go, but I just can’t find my groove.
So, I’ll do what I do
every day…reread, take a shower, and hope that the next chapter seeps into my
brain. So far, that’s the only cure I’ve found. Even if it takes doing that
several days in a row.
Maybe some of you writers
out there will have some other words of wisdom for me. Or, maybe I’ll just have
made some of you feel better to know that you aren’t the only ones who suffer with this affliction.
And now, back to thinking
about #AmWriting. Right after another cup of coffee. :)
Thank you for stopping by my place and reading my musings. Remember these are just my opinions and shouldn’t be taken too seriously. If you have comments or questions, which I hope you do, please feel free to leave them in the comment section, and I promise you I will answer. If you’re curious about what I write, please visit one of my author pages, where you can read all about my novels and short stories. And hey, I’ll even give you a free book just for stopping by.
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