You’re sitting at your
desk (or in your easy chair or in a coffee house or wherever), staring at a
screen (or a typewriter or whatever), and nothing’s coming. You’re blank. Your
head is blank. The page is blank. You want to get up and do something else (anything!),
but you know that’s no good. The little voice in your head keeps telling you to
stick with it, to keep trying until something happens, even if you write trash.
You might be surprised to
learn that at this point, I give up and go do something else. Or you might not
be too surprised, since I only have four novels out. But I’m a writer, so that’s
what I do, isn’t it?
Let’s be honest here. I’m
not a full-time writer, no matter how much I like the idea. I have a day job. I
have other hobbies and interests. I have family. Writing is only part of my
life. It doesn’t rule my waking hours or dictate that I spend a certain amount
of time with it. If you want to know what a full-time writer goes through, you’d
better ask one of them.
But if you want to know what
a part-time writer does, here I am. I’m sure I will disappoint you when I tell
you that I only write when I’m feeling it. (Rewriting is a completely different
story. If I only did that when I wanted to, I’d never get it done!)
That’s right. All that
nonsense you’ve heard about muses and inspiration might be true after all. I
don’t think I have a little angel whispering plots in my ear, but my head has
to be prepared to come up with something and it can’t do that if I’m
overworked, stressed, angry, grief-stricken or just empty-headed. I must have
had some quiet time recently to mull things over. I have to feel comfortable
with my characters, sure that I know their motivations and personalities.
Here’s the thing: write
when you feel like it. If that’s two hours a day, do it. If that’s an hour
every other day, do it. If it’s every other Tuesday, do that. If you don’t like
writing, you shouldn’t be doing it.
P.S. The fifth novel is a work in progress. Stay tuned!
