Time for some changes

[ostarella]

Tonight when I go to work, before I do anything else, I'm going to tell the managers I want to go to a three-day workweek instead of four. I won't be able to spend quite as freely, but I won't actually be hurting either. But when I can barely stand to pick up the coffee pot because my shoulder and elbow spasm, enough's enough. That, and I'm just sick to death of the stupid management decisions being made.

That's change number one.

I'm going to rebuild a shed and get it heated over the summer so I can move all my writing stuff out there. I want need a place where I can actually use my Dragon without feeling self-conscious, plus where I can smoke when I need to step back for a moment. I'm tired of having to completely break my train of thought and stand out in the cold, wind, and rain just to consider things.

That's change number two.

And last, and perhaps the hardest, I'm going to be stepping back from *all* the writing forums and discussion groups I'm on. Not because I'm spending too much time on them, but because so much of it has become just reiterations of either the same basic questions (will someone steal my ideas?) or the same stupid debates (who can call themselves an author and who can't). Checking in on them does one of two things - bores the hell out of me or raises my blood pressure. Ditto the blogs I've been watching - I know where they are and who's writing them, so when I really need the information, I can look them up.

I say the last is the hardest because I really do think writers need to keep up with the industry - but at the same time, it almost seems like some sort of inbreeding. Writers discussing writing with writers - and so many things that are 'big news' for writers are of absolutely no importance to readers. In fact, sometimes I think writers are too concerned with other writers and that 'world', and start forgetting about the readers. Not to pick on self-publishing, but it's more obvious there. People getting all excited because they get interviewed on some big-shot self-publisher's blog - well, whoop-de-doo. How many readers care? Or how many readers care if you call yourself an author or a writer - or if other authors/writers do? They just want good books.

And lastly, I think I've been spending too much time (consciously or otherwise) with publication on my mind. I need to stop starting stories and trashing them because I don't think I can publish them, and just write. Write like I used to. Worry about the publication crap after it's done and it's just a commodity. I can compartmentalize the business end of things then, and start the next story, again without thinking about publication. Just tell the story.

So, I think with these three changes, I'm going to be a lot happier than I have been. And hopefully much more productive.

Comments

[beckyblack]

I like the idea of your writing nook. I know of a couple of writers whose writing area is basically a shed at the bottom of the garden, so you're not alone!

It's a good point about the forums that once you've been there for a while you find you're reading and saying the same things over and over. And then when they get annoying you have to say, if this is neither informative nor fun, then why am I here? I'm a big believer in spending time only on what has a value of some kind. That doesn't mean it only has to be "useful", fun is valuable too. But once you're getting none of that any more, time to leave.

And it's a goo point about the inbreeding. I've read an article where Josh Lanyon warns against ending up spending all your marketing and publicity time and effort on things that are really only of interest to other writers. It's great to connect to other writers of course, but readers are the ones who are going to buy your books!

Getting on and working through and getting a story you want to write finished without fretting about publication is good! The most unpublishable thing of all is an unfinished book.

[ostarella.livejournal.com]

I'm looking forward to the shed - it started out as a chicken coop eons ago, and then my dad converted into my playhouse when I was very, very small. It remained my haven through high school! It's gotten very delapidated, and I'll have to rebuild a lot of it - but I still remember how I used to rush out there at the break of dawn... I have a feeling I'll be doing the same thing once more :D

Yeah, writers can be tiresome. I mean, everyone *says* that there's no right way to write (other than grammatically) and then they spend days arguing about how one method works and the other is doomed to failure - and yeah, the reader doesn't give a damn how the book got written. They just want a good read! And then you get the new people who ask questions they could've easily found the answers to online or in a book if they hadn't been too lazy to look themselves.

Honestly, I wonder why the public fawns over these people so! LOL

[billy-shriner.livejournal.com]

Ha! just saw your comment about no right way! I think because I've read how some successful authors write their books. Some have to plan, some just go with the flow, it shows that what you do is what works for you in getting a book written.

And yes, at the end of the day, it will be the reader who is important. Not another writer (though they can be your readers too :D).

[beckyblack]

Heh, writers. Eejits to a man/woman. :D

[billy-shriner.livejournal.com]

I know a few writers who have 'sheds' and I think this is a very good idea if you don't have the space inside the house ;-) So go for it!

And defo with giving up on the work front too, if you can afford it.

To be honest, I rarely visit a forum about writing - I just don't have the time. I find Twitter, Facebook and catching up on other writers' blogs keeps me in the loop. And to be honest, with writing, there are 'no rules' as such. Whether you're a seats of pants writer or have to plan. There is no wrong or right way of doing it.

I read Writing Magazine which I hope keeps me in the loop too.

Definitely just write what you want to write, then you can just submit, and if someone likes it, they'll buy it, and if someone doesn't, it'll get a rejection and that'll make you a real writer :-P

I know I really want to make writing a profession, just because everything else I've done in life has bored the pants off me, and this, for the first time, is something I want to do, and love doing. But I am trying (very hard) to remain patient, because I know it's going to take time. A lot of time. I just hope I can hold out and don't have to go back to work full time to help pay for me to write. lol!

Good luck. Do things that make you happy!

We want photos of the shed btw!

[ostarella.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there are other ways to keep informed - and frankly, based on the fact that not every writer on these forums is actually an 'expert', there are probably much better ways to keep informed. ;)