Every single time I sit down to write this blog, I wonder what do I know that is worth passing along to anyone? I know a little about success…my book was optioned in the past. I know a lot about feeling like a failure…my book isn’t finished so it’s obviously not published. I know about persevering…I’m back to working on Rapture again and determined to type “The End” sooner rather than later. I know about desperation…when I was struggling to write the scripts for the web series that they wanted to base on Rapture and I figured out that I was not a screenwriter. I know about struggling to find the right words and coming up blank, or even worse, coming up with the absolute wrong words and then having to rethink and replace them. Or just backspacing through them all, leaving a blank page. I know about writing through the night and the high that you get from writing something completely awesome. I know about trying to fit writing into a life with a full-time job, a husband, 3 dogs and 5 cats, a feral cat colony I care for at work and strays that I care for at home, a creativity group and writing incubator that I attend via ZOOM throughout the month, a blog, and a need to sleep a few hours each night. I also know about writing through physical and emotional pain as well as fitting doctor and hospital visits into my schedule. And so on and so forth. So I do have the knowledge to share with others. But that begs another question…who cares about or needs the things that I know? We all have our own successes, failures, and various issues so mine aren’t anything new, earth-shattering or mind-blowing. So, maybe what I have to share is the fact that even though writing is a solitary practice, we are not alone. There are shared experiences that make us a community. No one really understands us or what we do and go through when we write except other writers and creatives. Maybe I’m just a daily reminder that we are not alone and, honestly, I’m fine with that. Maybe I’m also a cautionary tale that warns you to not make the mistakes that I’ve made. And if I occasionally share something that inspires or helps someone then good for me. Even with the anxiety that creeps in each time that I open this blog and try to come up with something worth reading, I do enjoy writing it. It’s great writing practice and it helps to keep my mind agile. So, the takeaway from this is that we’re not alone. Others do understand our struggles, successes, and failures. So, when you’re struggling to find the right words at 3:00am, there are others out there doing the same thing. Take heart in that.
“Writing can be a very solitary business. It’s you sat at a desk typing words into a computer. It can get lonely sometimes and lots of writers live quite isolated lives.” ~ Paul Kane
I read your blog faithfully every day. I do not always have comments because I am not nearly as advanced in writing as you are. I love that you talk about the struggles and the challenges. I am like a sponge reading what you write. Writing is a very solitary thing but I find such value in sharing with other writers. Keep on keeping on…
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Thank you so much! I love your writing, especially what you used to read in our group. You write from such a deep place. I am somewhat humbled that you find my blog useful. Again, thank you.
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