Back to Work

A couple of people, both on and off the blog, have mentioned how much time it takes to write this blog. So I thought I'd time it. At this moment, it's 9:27 a.m. For me, these words I put here flow much quicker than those of fiction.

Since I promised to talk about writing one day, today seems like a good time for one of those posts. It's Monday and time to get back to work on my new work-in-progress.

I can't speak for anyone but myself, but I started writing fiction for three main reasons. One, I was a voracious reader and thought if others could write, so could I. After all, I wrote all sorts of things in my day job. Two, I thought I might make some money at it one day. I'm still waiting for that day to arrive. Three, and the most important, to get all the crapola out of my head.

That's right . . . to clear my little brain so I could think. All sorts of things floated around in there. Snippets of dialogue, plot what-ifs, character images, the whole enchilada in bite-size proportions.

The first stories I wrote rolled off my fingers like . . . whatever. I haven't had enough caffeine yet to think that clearly! Then I got down to work.

So here's my first writing lesson:
Write for yourself, not for anyone else.
Write for the sheer pleasure of telling a story or creating a character or painting a picture.
Write because you can't NOT write.

If you can't do those things, writing is probably not a good choice for you. Write because you must.

All the rest of the business follows. It's the work part. All the revisions, editing, marketing, networking can be fun, too, but it's the part that's done when you want to sell what you've written.

But the real creative, writing part . . . that's the part that's just for you.

End of lesson. The time is 9:41, so it took me 14 minutes to write today's post.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Don't you wish the polished pages of fiction came so quickly?

I think many don't realize blogging is very different than actual fiction writing. Usually typos get to stay in a blog, clunky sentences and all the things that are edited out of WIPs are left in blogs.

Blogging is the writers version of getting to sing off key in the shower. Well, except you're probably wearing clothes and not really in the shower when you blog. lol
Carol Kilgore said…
I won't say what I am or am not wearing when I blog, but I'm not in the shower.
Anonymous said…
Hi, fellow writer and (now) cyber friend :-) I write because I like to write too and I plan to write as long as I can see the monitor! I love it when people read my books and like them, they're also at the local library for anyone who wants them.

Enjoyed your blog. :-)
Jackie
Mark Troy said…
Hi Carole,
Good to see you blogging. I linked you to my blog so I can stop by frequently. Great title for the blog and I look for more great posts.
Carol Kilgore said…
Hi Mark!
Wonderful to see you here. I linked back to you.

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