Yeah, I know I'm supposed to be writing about sympathy as part of my advice on how to get a reader involved in the story. And yes, I know that this section is coming out days later than expected. That said, I've had a terrible week, so I thought I'd take a short break to give you a bit of advice for you as the writer instead of your writing itself.
Life sometimes sucks. Don't make your writing suck too.
Weird advice, I know, but it's true. Sometimes, especially when there's some sort of a goal or deadline involved, we lose sight of one thing that's vital to our writing: our love for writing.
If you're new to writing, you probably still have the flush for first love flowing through your veins. Enjoy it. Savor it for as long as you can. No, I don't really think the love really goes away, but I do think we writers take it for granted.
Which is a problem, because when we take our love for writing for granted, we have a way of punishing ourselves with it. We push ourselves too hard to make the deadline. Or to hit the goal we have set. Or we try and force ourselves to write even when we're messed up emotionally, because we know we're going to fall behind if we don't write.
Right now, that's where I am. And you know how much I wrote? Almost half of what I'd wanted. Because everytime I tried to force myself to write the section on sympathy, my muse kept saying: "Don't even go there." (More on muses later. Yeah. I am covering everything about writing.)
Don't get me wrong. Writing is the best way to escape our world and its troubles. It's an amazing way to create something positive out of all the negative emotions welled up inside us. But not when you have to force yourself to write.
Yes. I know that there are some people turning in their graves (be they dead or not) at the mere thought of writing when I want to. Write every day, they insist. Every. Day. Or you never finish.
Me... I quite like writing because I love writing, instead of putting unnecessary pressure on myself that makes my passion feel like punishment. See... when I write because I want to, I probably end up writing almost every day anyway. But if I write because I have a deadline or a goal (and I so happen to have huge writing goals all the time), writing becomes a job. Which honestly doesn't pay that well.
Bonus tip for the uninitiated: Don't write for the big bucks.
The point is that if you feel too down to write. Or too tired. Or just messed up because of crap going on in your life... Just kick back and do something else, promising yourself you'll write when you feel a bit better. Or as soon as you want to write.
Don't let guilt about not writing, or the fact that you're just hating that you have to sit at your desk and write, dig you deeper into the suckiness. Go do something awesome instead. And if writing is that awesome thing you want to do, get yourself to your desk and get some words down.
Thanks all for reading! I'll be resuming with the plan next time I post, which will probably be on Saturday. As always, you're more than welcome to ask me writing questions. Anything related to the craft or even to the art of being a writer. I'll answer as honestly as I can, and if I find your question will take a whole section to answer, I'll dedicate that section to you.
Coming up:
Sympathy
Showing vs Telling
Narrators
Worldbuilding (Dedicated to JaneCorinne)
Internal Logic
Ideas and Cliches
YOU ARE READING
100 Things You Should Know About Writing (Part 1)
Non-FictionThis is about writing, as I think of it. Subjects covered will range from plot aspects to characterization, writing craft to just surviving as a writer. Mainly, Part 1 is a comprehensive list of things to do in order to create and maintain tension.
