Writing rambles (Patreon)

I've wanted to be a writer for a very long time. Other career-oriented wishful thinking has come and gone (singer, poet, voice actress, character actor, teacher, veterinarian, nurse, editor...) but author always stayed stuck in the top three. (I still wanna be a voice actress too, though.)

Lots of things discouraged me along the way, mainly involving my potential lack of talent, but also often revolving around how hard it is to get published. I mean, for real, with books on shelves.  As with many things, once you've sold a book, it seems like it's easier to do it again, but getting that first one accepted can be a real failure to thrive moment. Or year. Or decade. Or, frankly, lifetime.

(Quick aside that the advent of self epubs is the only reason I felt like I could even really give this a shot. As 'traditional publishing' has changed, non-traditional authors are getting a chance to shine. Yay!)

But I was thinking about another one of my stumbling blocks the other day. Specifically, this idea that, 'You have to write every day. Even if it's terrible, even if you feel uninspired. Just WRITE.'

That's just not how my brain functions. It never has been. Sure, I can eke out a scene, but if I haven't figured it out yet, it really is likely to just be deleted. Worse, making myself write something that hasn't worked itself out in my brain yet can lead to me forcing the plot and characters to move unnaturally. Sure, there are things that need to happen, but sometimes I have no idea how exactly we're going to get there. For me, that's a big part of why I love doing this.

For instance, originally Doom_Bloom was just going to be a passing Player who does Zombie Runs. She would deliver Rouge to her destination, set up the idea of traveling in game, as well as the whole concept of Zombies, and vanish, probably not to be seen again, unless I needed her for a similar service later.

Then Zoey opened her eyes and called her 'sis', and it just WORKED. I knew this was something Zoey needed, and something the story needed, but how it all fit together? Well, that took a few days.

I don't write every day. I try to write a chapter every few days at least. Sometimes I get inspired and write two! But I'm a stay-at-home mom, and my days are generally filled with paying attention to a very energetic and happy five year old (frankly, when I write about Zoey, I'm imagining my daughter in ten years), two dogs, a kitten, a cockatiel, and a quail. Oh, and a house and a husband. Husbands are surprisingly similar to five year olds. (Don't tell him I said that.)

Long story, um, long, this is what works for ME. I hate writing things I have to force, and usually I don't think what I write when I do that is very good. But then I figure something out, and it just pours out, and while I don't claim I'm writing anything brilliant, at least I'm having fun, and I hope you are, too!

There isn't much point to all this rambling, I guess, except to say that whatever you all do, I hope you do it in your own way, too. There are things we all have to do, whether we like it or not, but the way we do it can be our own, at least in little ways. There's no point in doing something you'll only want to delete, so wait until inspiration strikes, and pour your heart out.

Thanks for sticking with me, and I hope you have a great week!