I swear, I have a bad case of it lately too. All I want to do is lay around and be a slug.
Which I have NO time for.
Got lots done at the Day Job and then headed home where I did a little work on the Book From Hell. Then I did some brainstorming with some writer pals about my hit man. I don’t like the lame reason of why he’s a hit man, so we were trying to come up with a better reason as to why he is the way he is. And we all agreed that it has to be bigger than what it seems.
It sparked a little fire about my hero and I leared a little more about him in the process. He’s not a bad guy, he just seems that way.
So the story somewhat evolved. It’s sort of Indiana Jones meets Alias with a time machine. 🙂
My personal deadline for having this thing done is the 15th and no later than the 25th. I simply MUST stick to this deadline.
And I just got my tentative release date for the ebook version of this Book From Hell – early October. I can live with that. It will give me plenty of time to get it rewritten and two or three more rounds of edits done. Plus, if I can get it done and wrapped up early, there is a chance it will be moved up.
Here’s hoping.
Sometimes I feel very isolated with the writing – like with this editing. It feels sort of like being adrift in a small little boat in the middle of the ocean with only one paddle. And no matter how hard I row, I still end up nowhere.
I guess that’s where you enlist the help of writer pals. Because without them, you’d be stark raving mad.
You being the Collective You, of course. 🙂
I swear there’s moments I stop and think – what the hell was I thinking? Why do I want to do this for a living? Am I INSANE? I guess you have to be a little insane to want to be a professional writer. I used to think writing a book was easy. Oh, how wrong I was! I used to read a book and think – I can do that. And I can to a degree, I think. I’m getting better. I still haven’t achieved my ultimate goal – acceptance with a NY house. But deep down I believe it will happen. Eventually.
It’s taken me a long time to get here, but I think I’ve finally embraced the whole “writing as a second profession” thing. I finally “get” it and finally think of myself as “a writer” on a daily basis. Not a moment goes by that I’m not sitting at my desk at work and thinking “Wouldn’t it be great if THIS happened?”
But along with that comes the moments where I think, “Gaw, I totally suck at this.” Moments I read something I’ve written and think “What the HELL is this dribble?” and then moments I write something and think I’m just a big no talent hack.Â
It’s those moments where I yell at myself for being an idiot. I am one step closer to seeing my name on the cover of a book – in just over a month. It will happen. And that will make all the blood, sweat, and tears all worth it.
And yesterday… I got my “autographed copy” stickers. That is just cool as shit. I can’t wait to use them.
The biggest step you’ve made towards your success is approaching it as your second job, rather than your hobby. That alone will give you the perserverence and professionalism to achieve your goals.
AMEN!!!
😀