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| Photo credit: sunside on Flickr |
I think there are probably a lot of reasons for that, but I found it interesting, because this is far from my first book. This WIP is, in fact, the twelfth MS I’ve written, and so you’d think that I’d have the whole book-writing thing down pat by down.
Except, you know, I don’t.
I mean, sure, I know my process now. I know I do my best first drafts when I fast draft and I need some air between first drafting and editing. I know my general cycle is first drafting, revising, CPing, revising, CPing, revising, maybe more CP/betaing, and maybe more revising before sending it off.
But the actual writing part? And the actual revising part? It is so tough sometimes, you guys, and I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I sat back and wondered if I was wasting my time with this MS.
Because the truth is, writing doesn’t get easier. And neither does having confidence in your work, at least, not all the time. And even after you’ve written WIP after WIP, you’ll still have some days (or even some entire MSs!) that spew out words ridiculously easy, then you’ll still have some days (or, again, even entire WIPs) where you have to fight for every single word. And it’s not because you’re a bad writer, or haven’t learned anything, or you’re doomed to never getting published—it’s just the way it is. And it’s something I’m about 99% sure every writer deals with, regardless of how many books they’ve written or published or not.
Pressing send doesn’t get easier, either. Whether that send is to your CP, or your agent, or the thirtieth query or whatever, sending your work out is scary every single time. And I mean, it helps that I’ve learned that the best thing for me to do is immediately distract myself after pressing send, and absolutely not looking at the manuscript or the e-mail (because, invariably, I will find a typo, or misplaced comma, or something equally horrifying). But it’s still nerve-wracking and I still glance at my e-mail more than I should wondering if today will be the day my CPs nicely tell me this WIP sucks.
So here’s the hard truth: some parts of the writing process really don’t get easier or less terrifying. But being a writer means buckling up and riding the emotional rollercoaster that is known as our careers. And it’s true that some things don’t get easier, but to me? Creating new worlds and characters and stories and sharing them with readers makes it all so very very worth it.
What parts of the writing/revision process do you find difficult?
Twitter-sized bites:
.@Ava_Jae says, "some parts of the writing process really don’t get easier or less terrifying." What do you think? (Click to tweet)
What parts of the writing/revision process do you find difficult? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)
