If you call yourself a Writer, you’re also a waiter.
You wait while crafting ideas with promise, hoping to coax them to bloom.
You wait, sweating out that first full draft.
There’s more waiting as you revise and revise and revise, carving your manuscripts into something you
hope others find tasty and satisfying as a three course meal.
Then you wait a bit more as you share your work with other like-minded waiters-- trying to remain open to their feedback.
Your wait continues as you revise and revise and revise a whole lot more.
Then you must add patience to the mix, making sure your manuscript is the best it can be before
submitting to agents and editors.
After that… well, you know the routine.
Sometimes, waiting can box you in. It’s like you turned your back for one second and in that moment
your words locked themselves in a secret room. You’re pretty sure you had the Key, made of
craft, imagination and confidence-- in your pocket . But suddenly it’s gone. If you try to pry your words
free they come out sounding forced, or worse like a poor imitation of another writer you admire. That’s
when your troubles really begin. You start wondering if you ever had that elusive writer’s Key in the
first place.
Waiting is never easy and it certainly isn’t fun. For me, the only way to find The Key is to step away from
what I’ve written.
I take a walk with my dog.
I visit the library or a book store.
I sign up for a writer’s workshop.
I try writing something in a different genre.
Perhaps, I begin a blog.
I bake. I cook. I plant a garden.
I take interesting photos.
I do something for someone else.
And when things are really, really bad-- I clean.
Thankfully, my house is not so clean right now.
How do you hold on to the Key?
Read More
You wait while crafting ideas with promise, hoping to coax them to bloom.
You wait, sweating out that first full draft.
There’s more waiting as you revise and revise and revise, carving your manuscripts into something you
hope others find tasty and satisfying as a three course meal.
Then you wait a bit more as you share your work with other like-minded waiters-- trying to remain open to their feedback.
Your wait continues as you revise and revise and revise a whole lot more.
Then you must add patience to the mix, making sure your manuscript is the best it can be before
submitting to agents and editors.
After that… well, you know the routine.
Sometimes, waiting can box you in. It’s like you turned your back for one second and in that moment
your words locked themselves in a secret room. You’re pretty sure you had the Key, made of
craft, imagination and confidence-- in your pocket . But suddenly it’s gone. If you try to pry your words
free they come out sounding forced, or worse like a poor imitation of another writer you admire. That’s
when your troubles really begin. You start wondering if you ever had that elusive writer’s Key in the
first place.
Waiting is never easy and it certainly isn’t fun. For me, the only way to find The Key is to step away from
what I’ve written.
I take a walk with my dog.
I visit the library or a book store.
I sign up for a writer’s workshop.
I try writing something in a different genre.
Perhaps, I begin a blog.
I bake. I cook. I plant a garden.
I take interesting photos.
I do something for someone else.
And when things are really, really bad-- I clean.
Thankfully, my house is not so clean right now.
How do you hold on to the Key?
Read More