Nothing Comes Easy

What do you find is the hardest part of writing?

• Ideas?  There are times when I think I'll never have another idea for a story.  So far, that hasn't happened.  Will it?  Maybe.  But ideas for most writers are plentiful.
• Characters?  Those are the fuel that power the story.  With ideas come characters.  With characters come ideas.  Those are the easy parts of writing for me. 
• Setting?  Most of us have our favorites.  Our hearts seem to find them.
• Plotting?  I've sometimes thought I will never have a plot for the idea of a story.  And then something magically happens.  The ideas, characters, setting, all come together to tell me where the story should go, what it's about, what will happen to those characters--if they haven't already told me.  Sometimes it takes longer than I'd like, but if I start struggling, I rely on writing friends for brainstorming and we put it all together.
• Writing?  The actual putting words on paper?  Unlike Pat and Joan, the actual writing is what I enjoy most.  It may not always be right.  It may take making changes, but as long as I have an idea of where I'm going, where the characters are taking me, what the setting is and the direction of the plot/story, I can write and write...sometimes to the point of writing too much.

So where's the hard part for me?  Finding the time.

I don't have an outside job that keeps me from home.  In the past, that's been true, and I quickly learned that if an idea or a piece of dialogue popped into my head, I needed to write it down.  It might not be perfect, but it's a start.  The fact is, writing while working outside the home was often easier than working from home has become.

That sounds silly, doesn't it?

You see, I have a family.  All of us do, whether it's children, grandchildren, parents, husbands, or siblings...or all of those.  They demand--and deserve--a part of our time.  Sometimes they take priority, and writing is put aside.  But there are times when I have to say no, I'm working, when I'd rather do something else. Nothing comes easy, does it?  Especially the things that reward us the most.  That includes family.

But even though I've figured out that even short blocks of time can be productive, it isn't as smooth as it could be.  My family knows that I "work" during the day and often into the night, and they respect that.  But there's still a shortage of time, especially quiet time, with no interruptions.  And sleep.  There's never enough time for that.  In my shortest bios, the words, "sleep is highly underrated" are the truth.

Would I give it up because it's sometimes difficult to juggle a life that includes constant interruptions, too many things on my to do list, a shortage of time, and days when it's hard to keep from falling asleep?  No.  Never.  And whether anyone reads what I write or not, I'll still keep writing.

No matter what we do, no matter how hard something about it might be, we keep doing it because without it there'd be a void.  We're no different than the crafters, the soap opera addicts, the sports junkies, the volunteers or anyone else who has a passion, and that includes family.  It may not always be easy, but we don't give up.  The harder something is, the more joy we have from the accomplishment of it.  After all, if everything was easy, where would be the joy in getting through it and finishing?

Give me more time, and I'll fill it to overflowing.  It's the nature of the Time Beast that lives inside me.  There's no use fighting it.  Somehow I manage to muddle through and find The End.

It's a Matter of Heart

Jumping back into writing after about a 5 year hiatus, I'm relearning how to live with all those voices in my head. It seems once you open the door, they rush right in. They're loud, obnoxious, needy, and impatient! But I can handle it. I do have 4 teens after all. I'm used to loud, obnoxious, needy and impatient. It will take some doing, but I'll get them whipped into some manner of respectful organization. Once that task is done, however, there is another pressing problem. What do I write?

There's the half-competed women's fiction story of two best friends who Road Trip themselves out of their simultaneous meeting at the crossroads of life. There's the plotted out fireman story because, well, who doesn't love to fantasize about firemen? Another choice is the  love triangle with a twist--one of them is not really human. Or I could chuck all of that and start on the new Young Adult story that's been keeping me up at night.

Decisions, decisions! I think back on my pre-hiatus RWA conventions and try to recall the advice garnered from rubbing shoulders with all those editors, agents,and authors. Research the market. Find out what publishers are buying. Read in the genre you want to sell in. Discover the hot topics! It sounds like an awful lot of non-writing work when all I want to do is write, already!

Then, a voice from outside my own consciousness, whispers to my soul. Write the book of your heart. That's it! Every workshop I attended, every panel I listened to, every agent I pitched all ended their advice sessions with the same message--write the book of your heart.

Although I burn with envy at my published author friends, I know enough to understand that writing the book of their hearts is not a luxury they get to indulge in very often anymore. I long for, plan for, reach for the day I lose that luxury. For now, however, I'm still in that selective literary lap of luxury called writer's choice. Think I'll try enjoying it for a while.

So, in this month of hearts and flowers, I'm going to fall in love all over again! I'm ready for passion, romance, flirtatious rendezvous! The characters I'm currently in love with and the story that holds my heart is the one I will write. I hope, when the agents or editors see it, it will be the book of their heart, too.

Questions and Answers by J Vincent

Pat Davids’ blog posed several questions to consider as 2013 begins which I’ve condensed in italics below.  Such introspection can lead to confusion at first but then to surprising answers, at least to me when I came up with them.  i also realized my answers would probably change according to how they struck me at a later time.  But for now this is what I have.

What is your value?  Not what do you value, but what is your value? You are valuable. Look inside and see if you can give a voice to that value.

This was a puzzle.  Surely our value lies in what we value? I value hard work, and part of my value is that I am a hard worker. I admire loyalty so part of my value is that I am loyal to a fault. But then I reconsidered.  During the past six months I have thought I had little value. I have been very ill and slow to recover with new problems cropping up in an ever continuous line. My inability to do almost anything made me believe I had no value.  But after some thought I came to a different conclusion.  Do I consider people with handicaps, of whatever source, lacking in value? No. If they have value then so must I. Perhaps my value is different from when I am well but it still exists. I still touch lives. I make people smile; I make people care. I provide a means for their value to increase through the ways they help me. Yes, I will always have value.

What is your strength? What is the most indelible part of you? What makes you tick? Search your heart. What makes you strong?

My strength has always been my persistence, perseverance or whatever name you want to call it. My family would say it’s plain old German bullheadedness, but it has held me in good stead through life so far.  It’s why I have survived my many health problems.  It’s why I have written as many books as I have.

What do you enjoy? Just you. The New Year will be dull and lifeless if you don't make time for what you enjoy. Pick a date and mark your calendar for some you time. 

Pat says these change and how right she is. Macrame, crocheted jewelry (Long ago I made and sold enough crocheted rings and necklaces to buy my first clothes dryer!), and collecting snowmen were once passions of mine.  A current passions is quilt making as you saw via a previous blog.  

One writing passion is for some of my characters. We have people we love and some we don’t. Same is true for characters. I am very fond of all my heroes in my Honour series but I am fascinated by my villain, Donatien.  He has shocked me by how much he has evolved from his first appearance. I’m the author, I mumble now and then, I should know exactly what my characters are up to at all times.  It’s always seemed weird to me that I don’t and that they can surprise me. Learning the rest of my hero’s stories and this villain’s is the most probable reason I will finished the Honour series.

What is your weakness? What keeps you from following your passion? What holds you back from accepting your full value? This is about you. This is about finding out what makes you tick.

Pat’s blog made me realize I’ve been wandering goalless through my life the past year. I had sporadic fits of activity--writing and otherwise. But there was no real direction to any of it. Part of my weakness is just that--physical weakness. This is often compounded by the effects of the various meds I take. In December I was still exhausted all the time, unable to make decisions, didn’t want to get up, etc.  I thought depression and stopped taking one of my newest meds that got me through the crisis this fall but had depression/suicide as a major side effect. That improved matters but the exhaustion and a few other symptoms remained.  A blood test showed I was severely deficient in Vitamin D. It is amazing how much a weekly dosage of 50,000 units has changed me. I actually feel like me again and that it is possible to set goals and attain them. But the above is too simple.

Fear of failure, lack of confidence, and procrastination also play a part. Combine these with the fact that my priorities changed as my health declined. Searching for answers to Pat’s questions helped me focus on what is important to me. Only time will tell if writing is still a passion. No matter what, as Pat said so well, “To know and understand you is the key to finding inner peace and happiness.”

Wishing you all a Happy and Successful New Year!