I haven't been writing much lately, I haven't felt like it. That's probably not the best way to begin a blog post, but I think y'all will forgive me just this once.
I'd like to use a tired old stand-by like "I haven't had the time" or "I haven't been able to think of something," but I'd be lying. The truth is I simply haven't felt motivated enough to write over the last few weeks. I had plenty of time. I had plenty of ideas to put on paper. I kept telling myself I'd write some tomorrow. Tomorrow. Then tomorrow again.
Tomorrow is a dangerous word. It's an even more dangerous concept. Before long, many tomorrows have come and gone and you find yourself wondering where you left off. It's a slow, lazy spiral of boredom and apathy, and it's very, very easy to fall into it. I easily could have gone another month or more without writing anything down except for the occasinal appearance in AW.
So what changed?
I got a few encouraging words. First, an author I enjoy gave me a blurb for my novel Chosen, which you can read here. That did my heart good, especially since I am so fond of Robinson's work.
Then, a friend of mine, Chris Stevenson (who himself recently sold two books to Rain Publishing from Canada - more on those later), sent me a nice email about the project I was working on when I got into my slump. It was a nice lift.
Then today I read a reply to one of my posts by Aprilynne Pike (see her blog here). It wasn't a huge message, and the part that got my attention was small. "Good to see you blogging again." You know, that little bit made my day. Not sure why. April is always quick with a congratulatory word for the smallest of accomplishments, and she's been waiting about a month longer than I have. She's an all-around nice person, and so are Pat, Adrienne, Thomma Lyn, Dawn, Chris, Michael, and about a dozen other folks who have visited and shared their experiences with me. Fantastic, giving people, and I consider myself very lucky they come here on occasion to visit.
Hell, I thought, if they didn't give up, neither will I.
So tonight, for the first time in six weeks, I found myself doing more at the comp than playing Unreal Tournament 2004 (which is still fun, even after 3 years). I hit the keys and managed to pound out 12 more pages in my current project, which is shaping up to be a breathless paranormal thriller. I am calling it Bait. For now, that's all I'm gonna say.
You know what? Writing felt good. I mean real good. Like one of those things you enjoy so much you can never figure out why you stopped doing it. Now I remember why I wanted to write for a living, because it's something that puts a smile on my face. It gives me a good feeling to piece together a story from an empty screen, and By Thunder, I'm gonna keep doing it.
And so, friends, this is me, happily tapping away at my keyboard again.
Thanks for listening, guys. :)
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5 comments:
This is a seriously lovely post (yes of course since it mentions me what else could you expect really?).
But seriously man, this is awesome. First off congrats on the blurb and the positive feedback. But moreover congrats on just picking yourself up by the bootstraps as it were. As someone who sometimes feels it is impossible to feel up when she is down, I totally love it when the realisation dawns (for me, someone else) that it actually is possible to really just get yourself back out there!
So awesome dude, awesome!
David,
I can honestly say that I understand what you mean. I haven't felt like writing lately due to the stress of my car dying and having to buy a brand new one, and other life problems. Then I received a call from a director friend of mine. She said, "Have you made the changes to your movie that we discussed last year?" And of course I hadn't because I was writing my novel. She told me that her entertainment lawyer was interested in my movie idea and that he knew producers who were looking for material like mine. Let's just say I started writing immediately. First and foremost, I'm a novelist, but I also taught myself to write screenplays in the '90's. I'm a writer. Period. Good luck, David, and never stop writing.
Work killed my writing buzz, I think it really helped reading other writers' blogs and AW forum. Keep up the good work!
David, you *always* make me feel the same way on my blog. Glad I could lift your spirits.:)
Wow, David, that is GREAT. And I so understand the impact of encouraging words. I had a very, very hurtful writing-related experience several months ago and it caused the worst case of writer's block I've ever had. It's a combination of other people's encouragement and support -- and of course, breaking the cycle of boredom and ick and apathy by signing up for the Seventy Days of Sweat! -- that is lifting me out of it.
You are so right, "tomorrow" is a dangerous word. And I'm so happy to hear you're going full-speed ahead again. Doesn't it feel great. :) Never, ever give up, and as I have learned, never, ever let the turkeys get you down.
Take care! :)
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