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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Readers - Wonder how Writers Do It?


Really. So you ever wonder what goes on in fiction writer's lives that keep them writing the fiction they create or stop them, inspire them or throw up road blocks?

Frequently we talk here about nuts and bolts of writing, but really it's all about reading and writing. Writers who follow this blog are interested in tips and helpful websites and that sort of thing. 

Readers, no doubt are more interested in the inside scoop.  Correct me if I'm wrong, readers.

So, for today's post I decided it's time to open the door just a bit more and talk about a writer's habits. How I write and keep it moving forward.

One of my biggies and it always has been is write my fiction at the crack of dawn.  No kidding, for me the morning is a glorious time to write. 

I know, I know, a lot of writers "write all night" and "consume gallons of coffee". Nope, not me, I love a great night's sleep, popping out of bed all perky and getting down to writing right after a quick breakfast. My perkiness can definitely be a bit grating for others, but I'm good with it. Bouncy, perky me.

Another thing has always been to give my writing priority in my life. Never did play games about it. If you're a reader aspiring to be a writer, then you'll just have to get down to it. I've written since I was in my early teens, passed up a lot of things other kids were doing so I could write. It wasn't any sacrifice when what I really wanted to be doing was writing anyway. 

When I got older I dedicated many evenings to writing the books I eventually got published. Even did research and wrote notes on my lunch hours. It was a matter of stealing time wherever I could to make it happen. Obsessive I guess, but writing was always what I loved to do, what I WANTED to do. Check out some other writer's blogs like Mary Pax who's a science fiction writer and you'll begin to understand the high priority for writing thing. M Pax is always at it.

Another good writing habit? Drink a lot of water.  You laugh. You'd be surprised how we writers can forget these things when in the throes of a great story. And drinking a lot of water is great on many levels. Makes you take a break from fingers clicking keys to lift the water glass to your mouth. It hydrates you and keeps those brain cells happy and fatigue at bay and eventually it will make you get up from your desk and move - if only to the bathroom.

Ah, the mystery and romance of a writer's life.

Hey, did you readers think all this was easy?

Well, write when you're tired, write when you're stressed, write when you slept wrong and your neck hurts half the way down your back like I'm writing this morning. It's not like these things don't happen to a writer. It's not like writers can just go off in the corner and whine when there's writing to be done. There are deadlines, external and self-imposed and a good writer will stick pretty much to them with rare exceptions usually caused by some disaster.

You wonder how that book in your hand got there? Horror fiction author Stephen King tells us “Making people believe the unbelievable is no trick; it’s work. … Belief and reader absorption come in the details: An overturned tricycle in the gutter of an abandoned neighborhood can stand for everything.”

Yep, it's that wonderful gossamer world of the writer.  Hey, if you're an enthusiastic reader and that's what you love being, good on you. If you're an aspiring writer, welcome to our world.

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