I started talking about writing a book when I was in the fifth grade. I remember sitting on the playground (we were supposed to be playing soccer) and telling my friends the whole plot. They thought it was awesome.
High school, college, while I was working at jobs I didn’t like, I talked all the time about writing. I even started a book. And then I started another. And then… you see where this is going?
So, what was the switch the flipped? I stopped thinking of myself as an aspiring author, and started thinking of myself as a professional writer.
Take “someday” out of your vocabulary.
Set goals and stick to them. Some people have a daily writing goal. I work better with a target date, which allows me to be flexible on a day to day basis. Your goal may be to finish your book in three months or three years. Even if you have to set a new one and try again, that’s okay.
Admit, even if it’s only to yourself, that you may not know everything.
Read books, know the market, join professional organizations. Hang out with other professional writers–published or not–and soak up that energy. Observe the writer you want to be (thank you Twitter), and watch how hard he or she works.
Take rejection and critique like a grown up.
Listen to critique, use your instincts, and trust your own judgment. Sure feedback on (or rejection of) your writing is much more emotional than, say, checking your data on a spreadsheet. But it’s still your work, and not your baby.
Ditch the drama.
The muse is a fickle bitch and if you wait on inspiration, you’ll never get anything written. Go to the museum, go people watch in the mall, read a book about the place where your book is set. Heck, flip a coin to decide on option A or B. Then get back to writing.
My characters “talk” to me as much as the next person, but I’m the one with the keys to the asylum. If the characters aren’t doing what you tell them, go back and check your plot or check your characterization. You’re the boss, not them.
As for “book of the heart” or other emo-tastic phrasology… You should write a book that you love. If you don’t love it, no one else will. But when your book becomes your baby, it ceases to be a marketable thing, and becomes a beloved hobby.
Which is okay. Not everyone writes because they want this to be their job. Not all measures of success are monetary. When I finished Prom Dates From Hell, I felt just as proud as I did when I sold it.
Writing is work, though that doesn’t have to take the fun out of it. But anything worth doing, I think is doing with a professional level of commitment. That’s what gets things–including manuscripts–done.
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Every once in a while I need this kind of kick in the pants. We’re heading into a rainy, dark weekend – a perfect weekend to remind the muse who is boss. Thanks Rosemary!
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I’m glad you liked it. I looked at it after the fact and thought it might be a little mean. But *I* need mean sometimes!
(It’s going to be a great writing weekend here, too, but I’ve got all this STUFF going on. Like a booksigning and stuff. Time to see if I can put my money where my mouth is!)
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Thanks, Red! Sure miss you guys, haven’t written anything but weekly opinion articles since I left… this is what I needed to hear to start thinking about thinking about writing again…
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I didn’t mention DFWWW specifically (or RWA, for that matter) but joining professional organizations was a key part of switching my thinking.
(And truth is, even I get lax between deadlines.)
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I do that people watching in the mall. Easy though for me I am mall security. lol. Really though that thing about the muse being a “fickle bitch” is true. I am learning that the hard way. Once though you force yourself into the writing though she gets going. the dang muse though if you don’t focus on your one story she will jump to another and try to start another one on you. I also am trying to learn to just write, and do editing later.
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Yep. Waiting on the muse is another way of saying “never going to get this book done.”
But you are EXACTLY right. Start working, and inspiration will come.
You DO have a perfect set up for people watching, don’t you. EIther that or a job in hell. Depends on the mall, I guess.
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love the last comment
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You said it.
I’m going to adopt a new mantra.
“WWRCMD?”
What would Rosemary Clement Moore Do?
Guess I better get cracking on revisions, huh?
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Today, WWRCMD is waste too much of the day surfing the internet doing “research” on Georgian architecture.
But yes, you should get back to your edits.
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Hello Rosemary
Loved you article, Going Pro. Great advice and inspiration for writers, new and established. I can relate to many of your comments, imparticular about the characters talking to you. Mine certainly walk by my side and never stop chatting. I reign them in from time to time, but that is what makes fiction characters real!
Thanks again for the article……I read it from a twitter retweet!
Have a great weekend
Pauline
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This was a nice kick in the pants. As always, you have a nice way of putting it. I guess I should get back to editing, too, since I have no reason to do Georgian architecture research (but maybe I could do some research on trains again).