A couple of years ago we went to Savannah, GA on vacation and we drove out to one of the islands to tour a light house. Do you have ANY idea how many steps there are to the top of a lighthouse? There’s at least a million. I couldn’t count past that because I think I passed out for a while.
The stairwell is designed with leprechauns or Gwyneth Paltrow in mind because for the average adult it’s like trying to squeeze into a tube of toothpaste. There was a long line of people going to the lookout at the top. I was the leader of my family and an older gentleman was in front of me. About a fourth of the way up I thought this isn’t too bad. We can do this. A little further up and I’m getting a bit winded but I don’t want to appear weak so I keep plugging along. The man in front of me is moving at a pretty fast pace.
Half way up and I’m pulling myself along by the handrail. If I let go I’ll tumble all the way to the bottom. I smile (grimace) back at my family, because we’re having fun. Right? RIGHT?!
Three fourths of the way up. Is this damn lighthouse ever going to end? Whose dumb idea was it to climb a lighthouse anyway?! The stupid SOB in front of me is skipping! Geriatric Freak! I’m sucking on my inhaler and I honestly believe I’m going to die, but I can’t stop. My heart is pounding at an alarming rate, and my lungs have already collapsed.
The 70 year old cyborg in front of me is jogging. I think he must have taken Viagra or something. I’m going to die. Wheeze… My vision is going black. There’s no air! I can’t breath. These stairs will NEVER end. Wheeze…
Finally. We reach the top and there’s a tiny door that opens onto the lookout. I’m close to death but relieved to be finished with the stairs. I squeeze through the door and hope there’s enough oxygen this high up so that a couple of my brain cells will continue to live. At least there’ll be something left to hook up to a ventilator.
I look back for my family thinking they’ll want to enjoy the beautiful freaking view and guess what? My husband won’t come out on the deck. Suddenly, my 6’1” hero is afraid of heights.
Seriously!!!????!!! I climb the Mt. Everest of Lighthouses and he won’t come out on the deck! So I have to admire the view with the old geezer. Stupid robot.
Wheeze…
How does this tie into writing? And what’s the moral of the story. I don’t know. Maybe it’s that we shouldn’t compare ourselves to others. For all I know that old guy climbed those stairs everyday.
As writers and people we have to remember that each person has their own journey, and it’s not going to be down the same roads as someone else. Maybe it runs along side someone’s road for a while but there will be different obstacles for each of us.
Or maybe the moral is: Take Viagra and climb to the top!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
just do it
no, i'm not back in 82, quoting the nike slogan. i'm here in 09 saying that if you want to blog, just do it. after all, blogging is writing, and we're writers, so what else is there to say?
the past month i've been evaluating the stuff i've written over the past few years. not only do i think i'm writing in a highly competitive subgenre, i started questioning if this was the direction i really wanted my personal writing career to go. my professional writing career enables me to do lots of different kinds of writing: script writing (i say script because these are for short videos and flash presentations), feature writing (magazine articles), web writing (as in web sites), business writing (as in memos, letters, press releases), etc. so, why can't i do lots of different personal writing? well, i believe i can do anything i want but since there are only 24 hours in a day, that's one reason why i can't. another reason is, at least it seems in romance, that you have to be married to one subgenre, or else develop another pen name and be two people. i barely have time to be one person, so being two, three, our four to cover all the writing i'd like to do may be more than i can tackle given other responsibilities and desires.
it also struck me that the majority of what i read is not what i write. i believe that is because of two reasons:
1. i have limited favorite authors in my subgenre, thus i only have a few books of theirs to read per year.
2. i am interested in lots of different stuff - i majored in english - that's what we did - we read a bunch of different stuff.
i'm not at some crossroad trying to figure out what i want to do. oh, gee, is this really for me? of course it is. that is a stupid question i will never ask myself - no matter how many rejections i get, no matter how many "life" obstacles come my way. regardless of my recent evaluation, i will do something. i've been writing since i was 15. i knew at 15 i would be a writer. that's why i studied it in school. that's what i do at work from 8-5, 40 hours a week, sometimes personal writing during my lunch hour, and usually part of my night after work. that's why i belong to a writing organization and am in the best critique group ever. i am never not writing even when i am not at my laptop or there is no pen or paper in sight. i can write anywhere, anytime. it's a choice, something i do - not something i see as something i'd like to do.
a writer either wants it or doesn't. you are either going to do it or just talk about doing it but never get around to doing it. if you are the latter, you aren't a writer. you have to write to be a writer. sorry, that's just how it is. remember the blog where is asked if a person could call themselves a runner if they never ran? the answer is no. you have to practice what you dream. dreams usually never fall into a person's lap. they have to work for it. besides, it wouldn't be any fun if you didn't earn it or learn from it.
so, where i'm at is here. i acknowledge that i am interested in lots of different subjects and lots of different types of writing ... and that is the beauty of it - people change. i've changed. back in the day i wrote a screenplay. maybe i'll write another one. i know how, so why not? for me, it's a matter of time and balancing priorities. my priorities have COMPLETELY changed, but that doesn't mean my love of writing has changed too. i will always write. but what i write, that is what i actually don't want to plan. maybe that's the pantster in me - i like letting writing take me somewhere. i don't want to plan it out. that's also why i avoid "methods" like storyboarding - that takes the fun out of it and it makes the whole writing process unnatural, at least to me. i don't need to do a character outline. if i don't know my characters inside and out, why would i even attempt to write a story? while i am this way, i accept that everyone is different. although i admit that i accept that everyone writes differently, i don't really understand it. i only "get" my way.
so again. i'll continue to write what feels right. and i think that is OK. whether i'm writing contemporary or women's fiction, my voice doesn't change. i'm still me.
if i had to come up with one issue, it would be that what i write doesn't seem to fit into some cookie cutter place. so, finding a home may be a little difficult, but you know what, i'm not worried about that. if it's meant to be, it will be.
so, i say if you want to be a writer, you better write. don't just think about writing, don't make excuses, don't plan it out because i am here to testify, as a former queen of planning, that plans don't always work out, at least not when we want them to. i do think, however, that if writing is something you truly want, as in deep down to the innermost depth of your heart - you will get what you want. but don't wait for it to just fall in your lap. you gotta write.
just do it. don't talk about it. do it. do. it.
the past month i've been evaluating the stuff i've written over the past few years. not only do i think i'm writing in a highly competitive subgenre, i started questioning if this was the direction i really wanted my personal writing career to go. my professional writing career enables me to do lots of different kinds of writing: script writing (i say script because these are for short videos and flash presentations), feature writing (magazine articles), web writing (as in web sites), business writing (as in memos, letters, press releases), etc. so, why can't i do lots of different personal writing? well, i believe i can do anything i want but since there are only 24 hours in a day, that's one reason why i can't. another reason is, at least it seems in romance, that you have to be married to one subgenre, or else develop another pen name and be two people. i barely have time to be one person, so being two, three, our four to cover all the writing i'd like to do may be more than i can tackle given other responsibilities and desires.
it also struck me that the majority of what i read is not what i write. i believe that is because of two reasons:
1. i have limited favorite authors in my subgenre, thus i only have a few books of theirs to read per year.
2. i am interested in lots of different stuff - i majored in english - that's what we did - we read a bunch of different stuff.
i'm not at some crossroad trying to figure out what i want to do. oh, gee, is this really for me? of course it is. that is a stupid question i will never ask myself - no matter how many rejections i get, no matter how many "life" obstacles come my way. regardless of my recent evaluation, i will do something. i've been writing since i was 15. i knew at 15 i would be a writer. that's why i studied it in school. that's what i do at work from 8-5, 40 hours a week, sometimes personal writing during my lunch hour, and usually part of my night after work. that's why i belong to a writing organization and am in the best critique group ever. i am never not writing even when i am not at my laptop or there is no pen or paper in sight. i can write anywhere, anytime. it's a choice, something i do - not something i see as something i'd like to do.
a writer either wants it or doesn't. you are either going to do it or just talk about doing it but never get around to doing it. if you are the latter, you aren't a writer. you have to write to be a writer. sorry, that's just how it is. remember the blog where is asked if a person could call themselves a runner if they never ran? the answer is no. you have to practice what you dream. dreams usually never fall into a person's lap. they have to work for it. besides, it wouldn't be any fun if you didn't earn it or learn from it.
so, where i'm at is here. i acknowledge that i am interested in lots of different subjects and lots of different types of writing ... and that is the beauty of it - people change. i've changed. back in the day i wrote a screenplay. maybe i'll write another one. i know how, so why not? for me, it's a matter of time and balancing priorities. my priorities have COMPLETELY changed, but that doesn't mean my love of writing has changed too. i will always write. but what i write, that is what i actually don't want to plan. maybe that's the pantster in me - i like letting writing take me somewhere. i don't want to plan it out. that's also why i avoid "methods" like storyboarding - that takes the fun out of it and it makes the whole writing process unnatural, at least to me. i don't need to do a character outline. if i don't know my characters inside and out, why would i even attempt to write a story? while i am this way, i accept that everyone is different. although i admit that i accept that everyone writes differently, i don't really understand it. i only "get" my way.
so again. i'll continue to write what feels right. and i think that is OK. whether i'm writing contemporary or women's fiction, my voice doesn't change. i'm still me.
if i had to come up with one issue, it would be that what i write doesn't seem to fit into some cookie cutter place. so, finding a home may be a little difficult, but you know what, i'm not worried about that. if it's meant to be, it will be.
so, i say if you want to be a writer, you better write. don't just think about writing, don't make excuses, don't plan it out because i am here to testify, as a former queen of planning, that plans don't always work out, at least not when we want them to. i do think, however, that if writing is something you truly want, as in deep down to the innermost depth of your heart - you will get what you want. but don't wait for it to just fall in your lap. you gotta write.
just do it. don't talk about it. do it. do. it.
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can we wear one of these at conference? 'Cause that would be AWESOME!
For Christie!
hahahahahaha
