Good stories come out of the busyness life provides...if we're paying attention
I whined to a writer friend last week that I take on too much and can't say "no" enough. His response: "you’ll probably agree all your “yes’s” – though hectic and sometimes overwhelming – are very life affirming while enriching you with things to write about."
Okay, fine Lyle, you are so right! (P.S. His book is coming out soon and it's a good one! I'll direct you to his blog once he gets it up and running.)
So I clamped my mouth shut and decided to sit back, enjoy and soak up ideas for my next manuscript. Problem was my mind was fuzzy. Real fuzzy. No, I wasn't drunk...I was at a loss for words... And that's not a good thing.
I've said it before on this blog. I started on manuscript (ms) #2 a couple months ago to kill time as I waited for responses on my query letter and received feedback from agents on my first ms.
In the meantime some of my critique ladies read my first three chapters of #2 ms and asked if I was writing a psychological thriller. Say what? Hmmmmm. Not sure I was going for that. What was happening to me? I'm all about love and rainbows and dancing hearts. A psychological thriller?! Me??
That should've been my first sign. Then life became really busy and I began revising 360 pages of my first ms. And you know how that goes with a full-time job, freelance work, and all the other stuff that comes with being responsible. It's hard, but if you want it bad enough, you will find a way!
I thought 'finding a way' meant excluding myself from everyone and all the fun stuff happening around me. This is when my adult mature self (I'm now the ripe age of 32) came into play. There's a time when you have to look inside yourself and ask: Am I writing to write? Or am I truly writing for the love of writing?
My first ms is my baby. That is my love. And I want to feel that way about every book I write. Obviously I want to continue writing about what I know and what I've experienced. I want to stand out. I want my stories and books to shine. But it's hard to do when everything around me is fuzzy and moving at an insane speed.
I noticed as I was writing ms #2, something was different. Maybe the words were forced? I was trying to push something that wasn't there?
The problem with getting older is we're faced with more responsibilities - jobs and tasks that prevent us from sitting back and enjoying the small things. I know that sounds terrible. But think about it: a Popsicle on a hot day was all I needed to put a smile on my face after living carefree, playing in the woods and riding bikes with my brothers and the neighbor boys. The sounds of frogs and weird bugs chirping at night made me feel safe on a summer's night. I made time to count the stars or feel the blades of grass between my fingers.
When life becomes too routine, or we have too much going on at once, we start to forget about the good things. The small things. The awesome things. Life feels rushed and same with our words.
We need the precious moments.
And sometimes writers become overwhelmed with deadlines and lists and finding balance. We have ten more pages to edit before our head hits the pillow or another manuscript to start, a deadline to meet, etc.
But the reason we're writers is because we LOVE to write. We notice things. We observe people and the world around us and we relish the moments. We want to put into words the beautiful, amazing things happening around us. We need to!
With that said, I took my writer friend's advice and LIVED!
And guess what? That's all I needed to do. The words started flowing. And I found my voice again. The words became clearer.
So go out there, have some fun, experience LIFE and do something daring. You never know what story you might get out of it!
I whined to a writer friend last week that I take on too much and can't say "no" enough. His response: "you’ll probably agree all your “yes’s” – though hectic and sometimes overwhelming – are very life affirming while enriching you with things to write about."
Okay, fine Lyle, you are so right! (P.S. His book is coming out soon and it's a good one! I'll direct you to his blog once he gets it up and running.)
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| Grabbed some friends and my hubs and headed to two wineries in Stillwater, MN for the day. AWESOME! |
So I clamped my mouth shut and decided to sit back, enjoy and soak up ideas for my next manuscript. Problem was my mind was fuzzy. Real fuzzy. No, I wasn't drunk...I was at a loss for words... And that's not a good thing.
I've said it before on this blog. I started on manuscript (ms) #2 a couple months ago to kill time as I waited for responses on my query letter and received feedback from agents on my first ms.
In the meantime some of my critique ladies read my first three chapters of #2 ms and asked if I was writing a psychological thriller. Say what? Hmmmmm. Not sure I was going for that. What was happening to me? I'm all about love and rainbows and dancing hearts. A psychological thriller?! Me??
That should've been my first sign. Then life became really busy and I began revising 360 pages of my first ms. And you know how that goes with a full-time job, freelance work, and all the other stuff that comes with being responsible. It's hard, but if you want it bad enough, you will find a way!
I thought 'finding a way' meant excluding myself from everyone and all the fun stuff happening around me. This is when my adult mature self (I'm now the ripe age of 32) came into play. There's a time when you have to look inside yourself and ask: Am I writing to write? Or am I truly writing for the love of writing?
 |
Yes, that is Taylor Swift. This young lady reminded me how much I LOVE love. The first kiss. Falling in love. Holding back when I really wanted to scream from the roof tops. Saying I love you. She had glitter and everything. Yes, I swear I'm really 32... |
I noticed as I was writing ms #2, something was different. Maybe the words were forced? I was trying to push something that wasn't there?
The problem with getting older is we're faced with more responsibilities - jobs and tasks that prevent us from sitting back and enjoying the small things. I know that sounds terrible. But think about it: a Popsicle on a hot day was all I needed to put a smile on my face after living carefree, playing in the woods and riding bikes with my brothers and the neighbor boys. The sounds of frogs and weird bugs chirping at night made me feel safe on a summer's night. I made time to count the stars or feel the blades of grass between my fingers.
When life becomes too routine, or we have too much going on at once, we start to forget about the good things. The small things. The awesome things. Life feels rushed and same with our words.
We need the precious moments.
And sometimes writers become overwhelmed with deadlines and lists and finding balance. We have ten more pages to edit before our head hits the pillow or another manuscript to start, a deadline to meet, etc.
 |
| How can we not want Juliet to find her Romeo? Ahhh...LOVE <3 |
With that said, I took my writer friend's advice and LIVED!
And guess what? That's all I needed to do. The words started flowing. And I found my voice again. The words became clearer.
So go out there, have some fun, experience LIFE and do something daring. You never know what story you might get out of it!
 |
| Two friends who spent a long time looking for love, but realized sometimes all you need is a girlfriend to lean on! |
