To Blog, or To Write

Some aspects of my life don’t lend to choices. I have to take care of myself, my marriage, my son, and my job. Most of that’s enjoyable.

But when it comes to other things there are choices. Such as….

Write? or Blog?

For most of the time I was writing my first book I chose to write, every chance I got. My blog posts were spotty, at best. Now that the book is out I try to blog more but every post I do is a page I didn’t write. Tough choice!

If I go a day or two without a post here I’m probably getting in some GREAT writing time. Yesterday I wrote about 2k words. To sneak that in between work, end-of-summer fun, and time with the family is pretty good for me! But of course, the 2-3 blog posts already half written in my mind are still kicking around in my head, unheeded.

I’m at a good point in book two, about 50 pages in, with an exciting series of scenes. It’s FUN to write the thrilling parts. I love thinking to myself “this is GREAT!” as I furiously write the words before they disappear into thin air.

So, pardon the absences. I’m probably writing. Or I might be tickling a two-year old mercilessly.

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In a happy world

In a happy world… I could write purely for the love of writing.

In a happy world… I could tell the stories without worrying about how they might market, what groups will like them, will people actually buy them.

In a happy world… my writing would be my passion, and my passion alone. It would need no other labels like ‘author’ or ‘published’ or even ‘successful’. It would be a passion to share for joy, and nothing else.

In a happy world… I would be less maudlin 😉

Just a quick, pensive post. Not pushing to FB or Twitter, just putting out there. My happy writing today consists of less than one page due to all the other concerns pushing into my brain. My brain can be quite tiresome, especially at bedtime. Almost every night I fall asleep with a moderately interesting TV show playing (soft narration – Modern Marvels and Investigation Discovery work wonders) just loud enough to stop the whirring cogs from replaying the day, planning the next, and so forth.

A teacher in college helped me define the problem. I forget her exact words but the gist was “Wendy, you don’t just see both sides – you see ALL sides.” That is quite exhausting and all but ensures I will never be a very decisive person. For instance: For this post, my initial ‘happy world’ statement immediately brought to mind many tangential points, such as the fact a happy world is unbalanced and the idea that ‘happy’ would quickly lose it’s meaning without a counterweight.

Focus and I have not been on good terms today.

Cheers, goodnight, and happy writing! I am off to watch James May enjoy the fun and frivolity of a modern (non-rioting) Britain with his wine-ponce mate, Oz Clarke.

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Writing is the easy part… or not

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen someone write “Writing is the easy part.”

It used to offend me. In the middle of writing a novel you feel that you are doing the hardest thing you could possibly do – crafting a story, weaving the plot, developing the characters… all with the goal of bringing an engaging, entertaining story to the reader. It takes months of writing, editing, and rewriting. Along the way some of your favorite parts face the chopping block.

That’s darn hard at times, especially when you have both a family and a paying job demanding large portions of your time. To me, the phrase “Writing is the easy part” belittles that accomplishment.

Last Friday I was finally able to call my first novel done. It was prepared. It was baked. It was poked and prodded. It was iced. CAKE NOVEL, ready for consumption.

I had a brief moment of ‘what now’, and then I felt lost. What do I do now? It’s out there, like a child that’s left the house, and it’s not my baby any more. I’m no longer looking for typos, polishing scenes, or worrying about formatting.

Of course that moment quickly passed because the biggest challenge for a new writer is obscurity. New adventures are just beginning to arise as I work to amend that problem.

Suddenly “Writing is the easy part” takes on new meaning. The writing, in large measure, comes naturally to me. In that respect it is easy. It’s an accomplishment and it takes a lot of time, but it is also enjoyable. I now stand at the crossroads where I must do many things that do not come naturally, especially marketing a story I like. Marketing is almost a dirty word; it is entirely against my nature.

I have seen writers belittle, bemoan, and grouse about this part. You don’t get paid for it. It’s not as much fun. It takes away from the writing.

My responses:

Sure. So?

Readers have earned this part. They bought the book. Hopefully they enjoyed it. If you’re fortunate they even became a fan, eagerly awaiting your next work. The tweets where I say “Thank You for Following”, the interviews, the guest posts, the contests – the fans deserve that part of your time. Doing nothing but writing your next piece is to tell the reader – Love it or leave it, as long as you buy it. I will give you nothing more of myself.

I stand here at that crossroads with hope and the commitment to give the reader a good story and pieces of myself along the way.

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New blog to mark a new chapter

I have made the switch – bye bye Blogger, hello WordPress. I love the clean look here, the ability to have pages with real links, the ease of use with widgets….

Hopefully it will make life easier. I’m not done tweaking (definitely want my own picture on the top) but I’m liking it!

I plan to update more frequently, moving forward. I have been swamped with forcing myself to edit (not my favorite thing), getting the various publishes done, actual paid day-job work, and the all important summer activity – swimming!

The book is out on Amazon and Smashwords. B&N is taking it’s own sweet, slow-as-molasses time, and the print version is nearly completed. Links for all soon to come. Two available at the BOOKS tab at the top of the page.

Book two is getting an outline and I will start actual words this week. I’m very excited to continue the story begun in book one.

The adage “writing is the easy part” is so true, now that the book is complete. It’s such a heady feeling to have it out there and available but that’s only one small part of the story. The books will persist forever, available for all to read, and hopefully fond memories for those who do. The challenge, however, is in getting each person to make that decision – to trust you, the writer, to spark their imagination, to entertain them, to make them think, to make them want more.

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