It was about 18 months ago when I realized I had totally fallen in love with the music of Mumford & Sons. I don't know how it happened, honestly. White Blank Page kept coming on my Pandora station, and one day I was like, "Man, I really love this song. I think I really love all their songs, actually!" Then I stole the CDs from my husband with no intentions of returning them, and he's fine with that because I listen to them so much he's burned out anyway.
Hopeless Wanderer is one of my favorites. I won't pretend to know what it's really about, but many of the lyrics connect with my writer's heart. As a writer, I can certainly be a hopeless wanderer and I've had to learn the necessary disciple to write and edit full stories.
I've also had to learn a lot of discipline to dream big ... and yet embrace where I am in my writer's journey. Which is why I love the line, "I will learn to love the skies I'm under."
It's easy to think about all the things you wish were different. I wish I had a contract. I wish I were so successful I could write whatever I want and know it would be bought. I wish I had finished this book six months ago.
If I'm to learn to love the skies I'm under, I have to learn to focus on what's good about now. Like that I don't have the stress of a deadline and can give the story room and time to grow. Or that I don't have to be marketing another title as I write this story.
Don't let worries about the future and what ifs rob you of the joy of where you are right now. What's something great about where you are in your writing journey? Is that you're having fun? That you're learning how to craft a great character? That you're enjoying some time away from your manuscript? That you can write whatever genre you want? We'd love to hear!
I love that I'm finally getting somewhere with my writing now that I'm dedicated to it, and yes, I love being able to write in any style and genre I please :)
ReplyDeleteI'm just really happy with the first draft I'm almost done with!
Happy things, indeed!
DeleteI love the freedom of being able to write imperfectly in a first draft. Also, I've been amazed to see how God has taken my writing to a new level this year--being more serious about it has made me learn to finish things, and it feels great!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love hearing that :)
DeleteI'm so happy that I have formed a bond with my characters. As weird as it sounds, I care about my characters and I really feel like I know them. Also, since I plotted this novel, I actually know where I'm going with it instead of just wandering around my storyworld aimlessly.
ReplyDeleteSuch big steps! That's great, Alyssa.
DeleteThat is a great quote. :) While it's important not to be content with where we are in life and our writing journey, it's also important to enjoy the place we are now and celebrate how far we've come, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteSomething great about where I am in my writing journey? I've written enough first drafts that plot and stuff is finally starting to click. It's getting easier to come up with plot points and even how to connect them. Definitely still a lot of work, but such a relief that I "know what I'm doing" now! :)
That's so exciting, Amanda! I remember the first time I came up with an idea and knew that it wasn't (yet) big enough for a novel. That was such a thrill because I realized how much I was starting to learn about story structure. Good for you!
DeleteI'm so thankful! I have been loving the story I've been writing for NaNoWriMo. It's an adventure I'm having a lot of fun writing, and I'm getting a good idea of my characters. And just the other day, the stuff I need for the middle of the story came right together! Now I have an idea of what to write next! God is so good!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love when it clicks like that!
DeleteI've having a lot of fun writing my novel. I feel like I know my characters, their personalities and their goals so well. I'm about halfway through my novel and it's all coming together! Yep, I'm definitely enjoying the journey. :)
ReplyDeleteHow exciting, Linea!
DeleteGreat post, Miss Stephanie! It's funny, as soon as I read the title, this song popped into my head. I love Mumford and Sons (all of their clean songs, at least). :) With my writing journey, I feel like I'm finally starting to tie together a lot of loose plot points that just hadn't quite clicked yet, which is really exciting. Something that I've found in writing (and life in general, actually) is that when you stop focusing on what you long to have and start enjoying and persevering through what you actually have, your longings start to come to you before you realize it. God's way of teaching us gratitude and peace with His plan, I suppose. :)
ReplyDeleteHa! Yeah, when they swear, they really go all out...
DeleteWhat a great insight into the process. Thanks for sharing that!
I like being able to have plenty of time. I'm a panster, and I tend ti get writers block, a LOT.
ReplyDeleteMe to, Jessica! Writers block = ALL THE TIME.
DeleteUgh, that's no fun. Then, yes, it's very good to not have a deadline!
DeleteSomething great... The best thing I know about my current project is that this isn't the finished article yet and that I can make it a lot better. Besides, it's just great fun to be on the journey with your characters.
ReplyDeleteAnd somehow, I still can get inspired by reading manuscripts that are kinda finished and waiting for my courage to do something with it. It's a pretty good feeling to read your own 'book' just for relaxing...
arendedewit.blogspot.com
I love hearing that, Arende!
DeleteI so want to just read my own books for fun. Even if I end up never pursuing publication, I would still write novels just so that I could build up a whole bookshelf of them for myself.
DeleteI love that song! Mumford and Sons are awesome, and that quote is awesome:D
ReplyDeleteI so agree!
DeleteHey, do you mind if I quote you on my blog? I love this idea. :)
ReplyDeleteDoesn't bother me at all, Hannah :)
DeleteWhat a great quote! I'm excited about rewriting something I started ten-months-ish ago, and I'm going to make it all the way through the first draft. I've promised myself :). I'm gonna stick it through and finish this book!
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot!
An important but difficult step in the journey, Jonathan. Keep us posted!
DeleteThis is a wonderful quote and I have to constantly be reminding myself this in all areas of my life. There are so many great things that I love about where I am in my writing. I'm having so much fun being able to experiment with different genres and writing styles through novels, poems and short stories without restrictions. I'm also currently working with an editor to edit a nonfiction article of mine that will be published in a magazine. The suggestions are so thorough and useful, and the whole process is giving me a small scale look at what it would be like to work with an editor or agent on a lengthier novel-length work. I love that I can slowly ease myself into the writing and publishing process and have fun at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful, Ana. Thanks for sharing.
DeleteLove this, Steph. It's a lesson we're always learning, I think. I absolutely love that I've had time to write what I wanted to write.
ReplyDeleteI went into this year thinking this would be the year that my book would get off the ground. I had connections at Writers House in New York and I have been building a strong network in the publishing industry. However, things turned the other way. Instead of my fiction doing well, I've gotten great notice for nonfiction. Through my blog, I was asked to write a marketing piece for a film with Affirm Films (a division with Sony) and then I got to blog for Family Christian Bookstores' national blog. I never saw that coming! It's opened my eyes to other writing jobs in the industry that may be in my future, even if it's not what I first anticipated.
ReplyDelete