There have been so many days lately that I've found it difficult to write. It's the end of summer. So much is going on. The kids are home. I'm trying to plan for two book releases---one book I created myself. Comic Con is coming, along with ACFW, where I'm doing critiques this year. More, more, more! And when I sit down to write . . . blah.
But I make myself sit there. I have a book to write, so I absolutely must sit there. I have no choice. And I've found that the more I make myself write---while those first few paragraphs are painful and might take me an hour---eventually, the words start flowing. Faster and faster. But I have to struggle through those first few paragraphs first.
If writing is hard for you lately, don't give up. Keep on writing. At some point, the words will flow.
Wow. I really needed this today.
ReplyDeleteAll right, I'm going to hit my word count goal.
Thanks for the post, Jill!
~L. Marshall
You're welcome! *cheers L. Marshall on*
DeleteI made my goal and then some! *starts dancing*
DeleteWay to go!
DeleteThanks so much for sharing this, Jill! I've been so overwhelmed with all the things I need to be before publishing my first book this winter that I haven't been writing as much. I need to just sit and write. I love that quote - "Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on." =)
ReplyDeleteYes, there is always so much to do (see my tomorrow post), but if we want to be writers, at some point, we have to force ourselves to sit down and write! (Says the lady who is commenting on posts rather than writing... LOL)
DeleteI think this is SO true. That's why setting a timer and making myself write for 25 minutes works so well for me. When the timer goes off, I'm ready to leave the faucet on.
ReplyDeleteI tried setting a timer. I think my timer is junk. I suppose I could use my iPhone...
DeleteYeah, I started using my phone too. Works great, and it's always with me.
DeleteI've started writing two pages a day in my novel in the hopes of having it finished in 75 days; then I can start editing. So far so good. :D
ReplyDeleteBy the way, that magazine excepted my submission! My poem should be published in a couple of weeks! :)
HP
Congratulations! That's so exciting!
DeleteThank you! I know, I was off the wall when I found out. :)
DeleteHP
Yay!!! That's wonderful, HP!! :D Praise the Lord!! I'm so excited for you! :D *high five*
DeleteLove you!
Yay!!!! So exciting for you! Which magazine?
DeleteCongratulations! That must be so exciting! Unfortunately, I still haven't heard back from the editors of the magazine to which I submitted.
DeleteCongrats, Princess! :-) And good job with the goals!
DeletePatience: Thank you and, yes, praise God! :)
DeleteAmanda: The magazine is called Kingdom Pen. http://kingdompen.org/
Ana: Thank you! And I hope you hear back from your editors soon. :)
Mrs. Williamson: Thank you! :D
HP
By the way, my poem hasn't be published on the website yet but it will be in a couple of weeks. :)
DeleteHP
Kingdom Pen?! No way! I already read Kingdom Pen!! That's awesome! (Isn't it a great idea?) I'll be sure to check for it soon. :)
DeleteI've heard of Kingdom Pen too! It's a wonderful e-zine, and I can't wait to read your work. I've never submitted anything to an e-zine or other website, but I would love to someday. Two of my top choices for submission are The Rebelution and Kingdom Pen.
DeleteThank you! You both are so sweet! :)
DeleteAmanda: Awesome! It is indeed a great idea. Love what the stand for. :)
Ana: Great! I have heard of The Rebelution but I haven't checked much into it. When you do get something published let me know, I would love to read it. :)
HP
Yes! I needed this quote. I shall make myself write!
ReplyDeleteLove that you have a Louis L'amour quote on here! One of my favorites!
ReplyDeleteThis past March, I finally started forcing myself to write every day, even when I didn't feel like it. I've now written over 120K words since then!
Louis L'amour also said that he was an author who could write anywhere. He could sit down in the middle of a street with his typewriter and write. While I know not all writers can do this, I've trained myself not to get too hung up with a "writing environment" so I can force myself to write anywhere, which is really helpful when I'm snatching a few minutes on my breaks at work.
Really good point. Thanks for sharing. Sometimes you just have to set your mind to adjust to something...like the disruptive writing environment. Instead of telling yourself at every interruption, "Ahhh, I'll never be able to write anything good with these interruptions," you say just the opposite.
DeleteThat keeps you from snapping at loved ones, too. ;)
I like that, Tricia! I try to do that too. Good job with your goals!
DeleteThanks for this--I've been needing it!
ReplyDeletewalking in the air.
You're welcome, Hannah!
DeleteYep. I needed this. Thanks for sharing! (L'Amour is one of the first authors who inspired me to write. Haha, my parents said I was reading his books at two years old! Well, you know, toddling around with one of his westerns in hand. . .) :D
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Sarah
sarah-plainandaverage.blogspot.com
Nice! I've never read one of his books. I feel deprived!
DeleteI really needed this. I just moved and I've been using it as an excuse to slack off my editing way more than I should.
ReplyDeleteHow's the move, MoreShips? Hope you do great botg with that and the editing!
DeleteI went from a high school of 600 to one of 2600. yeah. different. but i found the writers. thanks!
DeleteGood job finding the writers! Feels good to be with your people, doesn't it? LOL
DeleteWow, that's huge. :/ Glad you found some writers, though. :)
DeleteAwesome quote. I'll try to remember this the next time I'm tempted to forgo writing for the day because I can't seem to start. The first few paragraphs of a writing session remind me of the first 'leg' of the route through my neighborhood I take when I run. I think about how awful at it I am and how maybe I can't do this after all, but if I don't turn around I find myself doing what I thought I couldn't. If that makes any sense.
ReplyDeleteGood comparison, Miri! Next time I run, I'll be thinking about you---and writing!
DeleteThis is exactly how it is for me. It takes me forever to get through the first few paragraphs or the first page, but after that I've figured out where I'm going and I'm getting there much faster 95% of the time. It's hard to make myself just sit down, grit my teeth, and work through the tough zone though. Something to work on. :)
ReplyDeleteOne thing that's been helpful is setting a daily reminder on my iPod. I've gotten used to it giving me the "Sherwood Forest" horn/bugle sound every day at 1:00 :) So has my family, which is funny. I don't usually write at that moment, but it keeps it towards the front of my mind and it tells me the last time I checked the reminder off. So when it says "24 days ago" I know I have a problem. ;) Anyway, that's helpful as well.
Loving these quotes! :)
LOL! I love that, Amanda. I need a bugle call too, I think.
DeleteI loved this quote. Sometimes (actually lots of times), there are days when I just don't feel like writing. I may be overwhelmed with other activities or I may just feel uninspired. It is those days that I try to push myself and write because I know that once I start writing for a while and push past that initial unwillingness to write, the words will just start to flow. I try to think about what my cross country coach says to my team at practice when we're all really tired. He says to run even faster when we're tired because it will help us get both mentally and physically stronger. It's the exact same thing with writing (except I don't really think that you get physically stronger by writing-maybe your finger muscles? :)).
ReplyDeleteWow, I'm really bombarding GTW with a bunch of running analogies, aren't I? I guess I often compare writing and running because those are two things that I really love to do.
It's a great comparison, Ana. That's for sharing it!
DeleteLouis L'Amour is one of my favorite authors, I have close to 150 copies of his books. So happy to see him on here!
ReplyDeleteI really need to read that guy. I own The Walking Drum, but haven't read it yet. Have you read that one?
DeleteQuite a few times! It's definitely a must-read! I think all of y'all would really like his book The Lonesome Gods, probably his best book ever.
DeleteOkay, sweet. And I'll have to check out Lonesome Gods too.
DeleteThanks for the encouragement. I really needed it because I just cannot get the words to flow...
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, Mickayla. I'm having a few days like that too. The 100 for 100 is starting soon! Hopefully that will help get you into the swing of things again.
Delete