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| Cheryl St.John |
By Cheryl St.John
As
writers we have to make progress without supervision or the constant oversight
of a group. We look forward to the final payoff, but meanwhile, the task at
hand requires us to chip away at the job on our own. It’s so much easier to do
that if we love what we’re doing. If we can get excited about our story, it can
make the solitary task of writing pleasurable. If we can find the joy in what
was once a hobby or a dream, that pleasure can make the task more palatable.
For the past three years “Find The Joy” has been at the top of my goal list.
Joy in my relationship with God, joy in my marriage and family, joy in the
tasks I perform, and joy in my writing.
Writers
are creative people, a breed of our own. Contrary to stereotype, we creative
types are not flakey free spirits or unsocial. We are problem solvers and fact
gatherers. We analyze plots and people and people’s motivations. We plan how to
build stories and settings and worlds. Even the most impulsive
seat-of-the-pants writers need discipline to accomplish their goals. Creativity
takes logical thinking, preparation, endurance and a lot of self-control and
discipline.
There is
so much more than creativity involved with being a writer. The creativity
itself is something huge and rare. It’s that mysterious quality that makes
people ask us, “Where do you get your ideas?” when that’s something we don’t
really stop to think about.
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But there
is more than creativity. Just listen to the questions of those new to this
arena. They ask about formatting manuscripts, they ask about agents. “How do I
submit? Who do I submit to?” It’s no small learning curve. There is the skill
of the craft one has to master. The WritingWith Emotion Tension & Confict parts. I don’t know if anyone ever feels
as though they have it all pulled together as far as writing skills are
concerned. There will always be books to be read and tips to discover and
processes to change. We’re always evolving, growing, learning.
Educating
ourselves on the publishing process could be a job all by itself. Any of the
components of being an author could be its own job, really. There are editors
who do nothing but edit. Book designers create covers. Website designers make
websites. Marketing people handle book marketing and promotion. But we do many those jobs ourselves.
We have
to be experts at using a computer, knowing the intricacies of our Word
processing programs, and learning everything the actual physical part of
writing entails, like fiddling with printers and surge protectors and updates.
And just because you learn something once doesn’t mean you have the skill in
the bag. The process will change. There will be newer versions of computers and
software. Technology will improve. When we’re having computer or software
issues, it’s pretty difficult to find the joy.
Research
is another major part of your job as a writer. Research is time consuming.
Sometimes frustrating. Sometimes so engaging or fascinating we have to call a
halt to write the book.
There is
always networking to be done. The writer who does this job in a vacuum is rare.
I don’t know one, although sometimes I wish I was one. Some genres lend
themselves more to face-to-face contact and schmoozing than others, but if you
want to know anything about the business, the editors, the rapidly changing
face of publishing, the industry professionals, or even other authors, you have
to be proactive. There are publisher sites and contests and editor blogs and
agent blogs and market updates, all important if you can weed through enough to
know which is beneficial. Someone looking in on us would be surprised to learn
how much more than an imagination it takes to be a writer.
If you’re
independently publishing, you have to relearn everything you knew about
formatting a manuscript. You have to learn about .html conversion. You have to
find designers and outlets and track sales, then keep track to figure taxes on
income.
The arena
in which we work requires us to have a wealth of knowledge in many different
areas. Social media is a huge part of being a writer and online portals could
be another full-time job. Marketing can be overwhelming. And even though we’re
mired in an ocean of book promotions, authors and readers, we can still feel
very much alone. And somebody will always be doing it better – and with more
skill or flair or natural poise and style. We can’t compare ourselves to
others. If we do we’re in big trouble.
It’s so
easy and so accessible to look around every day and see others who seem to be
zooming along a million miles an hour, winning awards, effortlessly getting the
right agent, landing the coveted multiple book deal, having their books
promoted in the publisher’s catalog, having their book turned into a movie,
etc. etc. etc. No wonder we struggle with feelings of being overwhelmed or a
lack of confidence or thinking someone else is doing it all better or wondering
what the heck we think we’re doing.
I’m here
to tell you, “You’re not alone.”
Here’s
where self-discipline serves us well. We have choices and combinations of
choices when it comes to feeling inadequate about where we’re at.
Wanting
the same thing another person has isn’t wrong. It’s natural. We don’t wish we
had it instead of them. We can be
happy for them, be proud of them, admire them. We have to acknowledge all of
our feelings and make plans to reach similar goals. Acknowledging how hard a
person worked for their achievement makes all the difference, but sometimes we
see all that and let our inadequacies get in the way.
There was
a time when Romantic Times/Booklovers magazine was the end all--be all--the
Who’s Who of romance authors and readers. Often reading through those ads and
the interviews and the lists of books made me feel like I was lagging behind.
Like everyone was more prolific and made more money and was—well, more
successful. I unsubscribed and bought an issue only occasionally.
We have
the option to pull back from anything that is making us feel bad about ourselves—anything
that is sucking the joy from our day or the process of writing. We can’t be
ostriches in this fast-paced business, but we can dial it down. Some people can handle it all, and if you can, more
power to you. But we don’t have to do it all. That is an impossible expectation
we place on ourselves.
So, don’t
compare yourself, but do develop good role models. We won’t imitate a role
model’s every move, but when we see how well their method is working, we can
apply the same techniques. We might see a pattern of work ethic that’s panning
out for another writer, so it can’t hurt to try something new that might
improve our routine. I know there are a lot of writers who could share how they
kept their commitment to their goals and made sacrifices to accomplish them.
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Because
we reach and move through different stages in our writing life, it stands to
reason we will want to change our role models as we progress. A role model
should reflect the level of self-discipline or the level of success we want to
reach. Know enough about the person you admire to pick out areas of achievement
or their work ethic that you could follow. Your role models can come from
anywhere, and aren’t restricted only to writers. Maybe you admire an athlete or
a teacher. The point is to look at someone who is focused, someone who is
moving forward in their thinking or their career. Someone whose performance
makes you want to stretch yours. And remember, you’re not comparing yourself to
anyone. You’re looking for a dynamic that works for you.
What I
want to make sure you know is that there are legitimate roadblocks. There are
valid reasons for getting behind or missing the mark. Life happens. In a big
way. In unexpected ways. Emotion tension and conflict is what we give our
characters. It makes for a compelling story. It isn’t, however, always
conducive to writing.
I’ve gone
through situations where writing was a catharsis. I dealt with the circumstance
on one hand, while on the other and I shut out the world and wrote. I’ve also
gone through situations where writing a book was the last thing I could think
about, even if I wanted to.
If you
become overwhelmed by a life circumstance, give yourself permission to take a
break. If you need kindness and patience, be kind to yourself; be patient with
yourself. Don’t beat yourself up. Ask for help when you need help.
If you do
get derailed, give yourself permission to re-evaluate. Then set new goals. It’s
always a good idea to revisit goals. If you’re on track, well and good—have a
party. If you’re behind, don’t beat yourself up. You get a do-over. One mistake
or failure isn’t a reason to throw in the towel. Neither are two—or three. Learn
from your mistakes. Learn from rejections. Or from a book that didn’t sell as
well as hoped. Or from a promotion flop. You look back at those numbers and
have to say, “That sucked,” and move on. We can’t be great at everything all
the time. We have to be realistic. We’re not perfect
Motivation
to reach our goals has to come from within. When we’re working toward a goal
that comes from the desires of our hearts, we are naturally inspired and
compelled to do our best. Direction and satisfaction come from working toward
those things we believe in. Completing a book is gratifying.
Congratulate
and give yourself credit for every accomplishment. Celebrate small steps as
well as large. Take a good look at the people you admire and choose some
qualities and habits from a role model (or more than one) as you move forward
this year. If you don’t already, find someone to be accountable to and report
your goals and achievements.
And never
ever compare yourself to anyone, because you’re special just the way you are.
You have the ability to dream a dream no one else can. You’re going to write
the books only you can write. Most importantly, take time in every day to find
the joy.
* * * *
Find my newly released Writer’s Digest book, WriteSmart, Write Happy. There are no reviews yet and in fact, my advance copies
are late going out. To my dismay I learned that the editor had quit and no one
knew what to do with them. Something are just out of our control. (Lord, let
writers find this book anyway.) Here’s the amazon description:
Writing is a vulnerable occupation; it is both
personal and intimate. The act of writing, cycles of revision, and the
confusing publishing industry can shatter a writer's confidence, leaving you
feeling like an imposter, overcome with rejection. Survival--and
success--requires commitment, honesty, courage, resilience, sacrifice, and
miles and miles of heart.
You have everything
you need as a writer--it lies within, in the form of consistency and
self-confidence. With Write Smart, Write Happy, best-selling author
Cheryl St. John will help you unlock your skills, guiding you to overcome every
hesitation, obstacle, form of writer's block, and procrastination habit you
have. Within these pages, you'll learn to:
·
Organize your writing
life by using a planner, scheduling your yearly goals, and acknowledging career
plans.
·
Sharpen your saw by
recharging your creativity, developing positive motivation, and creating
healthy writing habits.
·
Affirm your beliefs by
overcoming self-doubt, learning to use affirmations, and altering your
thinking.
·
Conquer remaining
fears by releasing tendencies towards perfectionism and establishing strategies
for habitual success.
Written
with a no-nonsense attitude, St. John's "advice from the trenches"
will help you take an introspective look at your own writing habits and life.
Through examples and inspiration from writers who struggled with--and
overcame--rejection and reservations, discover the path towards writing smarter
and happier today.
Link to
buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1440351791?ie=UTF8
