I don't remember where, but I remember hearing before that each story you write teaches you how to (eventually) write...that one story. So while every writer gets better over time (muscle memory-style), we're also relearning so much from scratch each time, too. 😂 And, of course, the more honed your excellent taste in writing gets, the harder it is for you to exceed your own high standards. Le haaarrrrruuuumphhh. <--that's a fancy French-sounding sigh, said while smoking an imaginary cigarette, gazing into the distance and probably, like, squinting through thick lashes
I'm in the weeds on a couple of manuscripts, too. I'm learning what you already know, though, that I can't "make" things work by doing x, y and z. All I can do is to try. And try. And try again. It's like trying to build a house of cards with cards that you have to make yourself, with scissors and paper that you also have to make yourself. Some days, that's fun! Other days..."uh, boy, there's a lot that needs doing to even get started here."
Hugs, Julie! I love your honesty and grit. Still, even though I know you'll find your paths on all your stories, I also hope you catch a break on one sooner rather than later, because of course, that is more fun. :) And you deserve that.
I do think all we can do is try and try. And I will say that I think, after a period of every story teaching us to write that one story (I'm not sure I've ever heard that before!) we'll get to a point where all of our experience writing all of the stories will spill over and be useful with all future stories. There are a million ways to write a story, but are there a million ways for ME to write a story? I mean, well, probably yes, but I am already seeing it happen, where I can use tricks that worked on previous stories (or, especially, previous problems with stories) and use them on current stories.
Well, that's reassuring to hear! That day can't come soon enough for me. I am sure it's happening in ways I am not always seeing already, but I do feel like I do an awful lot of throwing spaghetti on the wall currently. And you make an excellent point about also wanting to tell a story that you can be proud of, that shares some of Julie (or in my case, wacky Elayne) with the world, too. Hugs! Have a great writing day today.
It is very annoying how long these things take. And how you cannot, in fact rush them. The only way you can get there is by writing all the books! (Which is fun, but still.)
I loved this whole post. It’s full of so many good reminders. This line stuck out to me because it is me often too: “I feel whiny...All this time! All this work!”
I think what’s so hard is that writers don’t get paid until the job is done. Yes it’s hard and work is hard, but we don’t get paid during a lot of the hard points. I think about when I worked in design. I got paid when I showed up and brainstormed a new site layout, when I did the design, when I saved out assets, when we pitched new clients or had phone calls. It was hard, but I was compensated for that hard work.
If we writers were paid a yearly salary, I think we’d all feel differently about the work. It would still be hard, but at least we’re bringing something in for our efforts! Of course, that’s not how the industry works, sadly.
All this to say, I relate! I am constantly scared about spending a year on a novel that doesn’t sell. It’s rough, and exhausting. 💗
Oof. Yes. And I think so many of us have this nebulous goal of making enough so that it's essentially a yearly salary, except that still it's not. Because not only might we work on a novel that doesn't sell, part of the process of becoming a writer requires us to write many things that don't sell. And, on the one hand, that's fine -- I want to write good things! And if I have to write novels that never sell, it's fine. I don't want my not-good-enough novels to become books. But because most of us aren't making enough money to pretend we get a yearly salary, it does weave a real layer of anxiety into a lot of the writing. (Can you tell I'm trying really hard not to quote Big Magic at you again, the part about not putting pressure on your writing to make money? I'm trying to avoid a thing where all you and I do is quote Big Magic at each other.)
I’m always conflicted between the business side of the industry and the creative side. From a creative perspective, yeah, don’t count on money, don’t plan for it, thinking about it gets in the way of the art (and like you, I don’t want to put bad books in the world either). But from a business side, I really do think products have worth and work deserves to be compensated— be it music, books, services, skills, etc.
YEESSSSS to all of that. Not to mention that things have gotten pretty weird the last few years. I keep wondering if Some Big Thing is going to happen, but I don't know what that might be. It would be nice to say "ah, look, so nice, people writing great books are being compensated fairly for those books to be published" but it's way more complicated than that.
So true! I keep thinking that, someday, I'll get to a point where this is sustainable. And it has to be, or I won't last very long at it. That adds so much pressure that shouldn't have to be there. Writing is a valuable thing. We bring thoughts to light and beauty into the world. We shake people out of their comfortable narratives. We give the world color. It's a humbling privilege...and yet writers are so grossly undercompensated.
Welcome to the Notion tribe! 😁 I was introduced to it by a business coach in 2020, and it's been my tool of choice for writing, organizing, and collaborating ever since.
And thank you for writing this. I've felt like I'm banging my head against a wall with writing lately despite knowing that it's something I have to put time into. Pieces I thought I had clear ideas and clear outlines for have started morphing under my fingers into entirely different beasts. I find myself feeling blitzed and tired and not wanting to write, longing for—as you said—those few precious times when everything seems to flow.
Comforting to know that, as writers, we're all in this together. 🙂
I literally had never heard of Notion until last week. And now I'm all, "Oh, hang on, let me save that to my Notion!" as if I invented it. It works the way my brain works.
Sometimes writing is going so well and then every single time I think that I've figured it out, this writing thing, and that's how it will always go, even though I know so well that that makes no sense and is a complete lie, and there's no way anyone could sustain a state of Incredible Writing Every Day. But I get tricked every time.
As usual, you nailed it, Julie.
I don't remember where, but I remember hearing before that each story you write teaches you how to (eventually) write...that one story. So while every writer gets better over time (muscle memory-style), we're also relearning so much from scratch each time, too. 😂 And, of course, the more honed your excellent taste in writing gets, the harder it is for you to exceed your own high standards. Le haaarrrrruuuumphhh. <--that's a fancy French-sounding sigh, said while smoking an imaginary cigarette, gazing into the distance and probably, like, squinting through thick lashes
I'm in the weeds on a couple of manuscripts, too. I'm learning what you already know, though, that I can't "make" things work by doing x, y and z. All I can do is to try. And try. And try again. It's like trying to build a house of cards with cards that you have to make yourself, with scissors and paper that you also have to make yourself. Some days, that's fun! Other days..."uh, boy, there's a lot that needs doing to even get started here."
Hugs, Julie! I love your honesty and grit. Still, even though I know you'll find your paths on all your stories, I also hope you catch a break on one sooner rather than later, because of course, that is more fun. :) And you deserve that.
I do think all we can do is try and try. And I will say that I think, after a period of every story teaching us to write that one story (I'm not sure I've ever heard that before!) we'll get to a point where all of our experience writing all of the stories will spill over and be useful with all future stories. There are a million ways to write a story, but are there a million ways for ME to write a story? I mean, well, probably yes, but I am already seeing it happen, where I can use tricks that worked on previous stories (or, especially, previous problems with stories) and use them on current stories.
Well, that's reassuring to hear! That day can't come soon enough for me. I am sure it's happening in ways I am not always seeing already, but I do feel like I do an awful lot of throwing spaghetti on the wall currently. And you make an excellent point about also wanting to tell a story that you can be proud of, that shares some of Julie (or in my case, wacky Elayne) with the world, too. Hugs! Have a great writing day today.
It is very annoying how long these things take. And how you cannot, in fact rush them. The only way you can get there is by writing all the books! (Which is fun, but still.)
I loved this whole post. It’s full of so many good reminders. This line stuck out to me because it is me often too: “I feel whiny...All this time! All this work!”
I think what’s so hard is that writers don’t get paid until the job is done. Yes it’s hard and work is hard, but we don’t get paid during a lot of the hard points. I think about when I worked in design. I got paid when I showed up and brainstormed a new site layout, when I did the design, when I saved out assets, when we pitched new clients or had phone calls. It was hard, but I was compensated for that hard work.
If we writers were paid a yearly salary, I think we’d all feel differently about the work. It would still be hard, but at least we’re bringing something in for our efforts! Of course, that’s not how the industry works, sadly.
All this to say, I relate! I am constantly scared about spending a year on a novel that doesn’t sell. It’s rough, and exhausting. 💗
Oof. Yes. And I think so many of us have this nebulous goal of making enough so that it's essentially a yearly salary, except that still it's not. Because not only might we work on a novel that doesn't sell, part of the process of becoming a writer requires us to write many things that don't sell. And, on the one hand, that's fine -- I want to write good things! And if I have to write novels that never sell, it's fine. I don't want my not-good-enough novels to become books. But because most of us aren't making enough money to pretend we get a yearly salary, it does weave a real layer of anxiety into a lot of the writing. (Can you tell I'm trying really hard not to quote Big Magic at you again, the part about not putting pressure on your writing to make money? I'm trying to avoid a thing where all you and I do is quote Big Magic at each other.)
Ha. Please quote Big Magic to me anytime!
I’m always conflicted between the business side of the industry and the creative side. From a creative perspective, yeah, don’t count on money, don’t plan for it, thinking about it gets in the way of the art (and like you, I don’t want to put bad books in the world either). But from a business side, I really do think products have worth and work deserves to be compensated— be it music, books, services, skills, etc.
This industry is so so hard. 😅😩
YEESSSSS to all of that. Not to mention that things have gotten pretty weird the last few years. I keep wondering if Some Big Thing is going to happen, but I don't know what that might be. It would be nice to say "ah, look, so nice, people writing great books are being compensated fairly for those books to be published" but it's way more complicated than that.
So true! I keep thinking that, someday, I'll get to a point where this is sustainable. And it has to be, or I won't last very long at it. That adds so much pressure that shouldn't have to be there. Writing is a valuable thing. We bring thoughts to light and beauty into the world. We shake people out of their comfortable narratives. We give the world color. It's a humbling privilege...and yet writers are so grossly undercompensated.
Great points/message here, thanks for writing this!
Thanks, Mark!
Welcome to the Notion tribe! 😁 I was introduced to it by a business coach in 2020, and it's been my tool of choice for writing, organizing, and collaborating ever since.
And thank you for writing this. I've felt like I'm banging my head against a wall with writing lately despite knowing that it's something I have to put time into. Pieces I thought I had clear ideas and clear outlines for have started morphing under my fingers into entirely different beasts. I find myself feeling blitzed and tired and not wanting to write, longing for—as you said—those few precious times when everything seems to flow.
Comforting to know that, as writers, we're all in this together. 🙂
I literally had never heard of Notion until last week. And now I'm all, "Oh, hang on, let me save that to my Notion!" as if I invented it. It works the way my brain works.
Sometimes writing is going so well and then every single time I think that I've figured it out, this writing thing, and that's how it will always go, even though I know so well that that makes no sense and is a complete lie, and there's no way anyone could sustain a state of Incredible Writing Every Day. But I get tricked every time.