BICHOK
But you know what finally clicked this morning? A writing career isn't about moods. It isn't about whims, and it isn't about muses -- undependable creatures at best. I kicked mine to the curb months ago because she wasn't getting the job done.
A writing career is about sitting your ass in the chair and finishing the damn book. And by the time I've written another chapter, I'll be back in the mood to write it.
Then I'm going to work on DAUGHTER OF PRIVILEGE because it's the next closest to being done.
Then I'll work on whatever strikes my fancy. Might by COLD or it might be one of any number of abandoned wips that still strike a chord. But that's then and this is now.
And now I'm going to go to the coffee shop and write.
8 Comments:
Good for you! That's the kind of discipline writers are made of. (Now I need to apply that to myself.)
By 
Kristen Painter, at
9:16 AM
Thank you Miss Sela. I've been really MAKING myself write and that's the only reason I've gotten anything written. I think you're right--it's not about moods. I appreciate you saying it.
BTW, I loved "Cold". You've really got something there from what I read on the Divas.
Good luck on the Regency.
By Jennifer McKenzie, at
9:45 AM
"I write when I'm inspired, and I see to it that I'm inspired at nine o'clock every morning." Peter De Vries
I love that quote - that's what it boils down to. The discipline to make yourself buckle down and do what needs to be done, even when you don't "feel" like it.
You're a pro Sela - pure and simple.
By Sandra Ruttan, at
10:46 AM
Absolutely, Sela.
I am in the exact same predictament, Sela. I NEED to finish the rewrites, but all I want to do is surrender to Sariah and let her have her way with my keyboard and mind. *sigh*
Work first, fun later.
By Savannah Jordan, at
8:11 AM
Sela, you are so right! You can't wait until the mood hits -- especially not once you get pubbed and start being put on deadline.
Good luck! Now I need to get back to my own revisions. :P
By Meg Allison, at
6:34 PM
I'm having similar difficulties with my writing right now too.
By Faith Bicknell, at
11:24 AM
Thanks all, for your comments. I'm learning that you can tell the writers who plan on doing this for the long-term with an eye to getting published from the hobbyists. "Oh, I bet I could write one of those romance novels." Makes me cringe to hear it.
Sandra, I love that quote. I'm going to paste it on my brain as a reminder.
And it's nice to know I'm not alone. I thought it was just my ADD acting up again.
By Sela Carsen, at
11:41 AM