Friday, December 3, 2010

Writing is HARD!

Thank you all so much for all the prayers for Christopher. He's fine! And I am breathing again. :) Everything went well, NO COMPLICATIONS from the Sturge-Weber. :)

Now onto the post. :)

 Any writer knows this. Writing is just plain hard. It ain't easy. But nothing worth having is. Of course, we all know that anyone can type words onto a computer screen. It's making those words into something that readers will love that takes effort. And, well, it's just hard.

But it will show you if you've got what it takes. Write a  novel and then stick with it through the grueling revisions. Then you'll know if you're a writer. If you come through the revisions excited to start your next book, you're a writer. If you never make it through the first revision, uh, er, better try something else. :)

And if you can't find the time to read any books, maybe you'd better try something else. A writer must read. It is the best teacher. We can take online classes, go to conferences, meet with our crit partners. But there is no better writing teacher than reading what other writers have written.

We learn to develop our own unique voice by reading other writers books. And we learn what voice is. We also learn how chapters need to end and how new chapters are started. We learn about tension when we read tension.

So yeah, writing is hard, but it's the best way to earn a living that I can think of. Write on. :)

14 comments:

  1. Always amazes me how many writers don't read!

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  2. I'm glad I love reading. I was a big-time reader before the writing-bug bit me.

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  3. Reading and writing are something we do for ourselves. Writing and reading are mental travel, or so it seems to me. Reading is easy, writing is work. The discipline to show up and face the music of a blank page is daunting. The courage to believe you can write words someone else wants to read, and then to actually write is hard work. Writing is work, hard work, this scares the waddin' out of some folks. :)

    I'm beginning to feel like a word detective. Solving word mysteries, arranging word puzzles to tell stories and share life, people want to know how we solved a particular life mystery. Curiosity!

    So happy for Christopher! He deserves the best!

    Blessings!

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  4. Glad to hear Christopher is fine.

    And, writing is hard. It's frustrating. It's angst ridden. It's scream out loud why the heck won't the words flow. It's joy beyond joy when the words flow, page after page, chapter after chapter, and you have this sense of exhiliration, and accomplishment, that leaves you exhausted in the best way possible at the end of the day.

    Writing is hard, but the rewards, whether published or not, are worth it when you hold the final draft in your hands.

    S

    p.s. I'd say Go Titans (but we're not doing well this year, not at all).

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  5. Besides reading is FUN!!! Yes, I've always been a big reader and now I'm a glutton, because I can call it learning. I really do learn a lot by figuring out why a novel works or doesn't for me.

    I'm so happy to hear the procedure went well for Christopher. :D

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  6. Swimming against the flow here. When I'm writing I can't read fiction (I do read other stuff though) I always felt it was a huge disadvantage or flaw in my writerly mind, until I read a recent articel by danielle Steel who declared that when she's in the throes of writing a new book she never reads other author's books. Whew! I felt better after that. When I'm not actually in the writing process I read a lot though.

    (VERY GLAD all went well with Christopher! ((HUGS)))

    Judy(South Africa)

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  7. The "ka-CHING" moment is wonderful for a writer. It's one of the rewards, right up there with happy reader feedback!

    I am never, ever without a book to read, by the way. One of the ways I escape and unwind.

    Waving and smiling,

    Rhonda

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  8. Love the post, Robyn. I devour books, thats the best way to learn.

    But when I am writing the first draft, I avoid reading, especially the genre I write: MG Fiction.

    Glad things are all right for Christopher!

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  9. YAY for Christopher! I was praying and hoping everything went well. Hope you have a great weekend Robyn!

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  10. I read like the fanatic I am, AND I write as much as possible. I can't imagine giving up either . . .

    I'm glad Christopher's doing fine! :)

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  11. So true! I think I made the cut since I just started my 2nd novel after 2 years of writing and revising the first. It's hard and, yet, I love it. Glad to hear the surgery went well!

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  12. What great news about Christopher! Hooray!!

    Yeah, writing is hard, but it's so exciting and fun, too!

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  13. I'm very happy to hear about Christopher!! That's wonderful news :) Writing is definitely a workout. Some days, I get so frustrated. But I can get right back into my groove after reading a great passage in a novel or essay. Reading often does help those words flow easier.

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  14. If you don't read, how do you know how to write? Sorry, my brain can't wrap itself around that...

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