Writers are neurotic. Don’t you think? I am, and it seems to me every other writer I’ve met – in person or by email – is as well. Often, we get swamped by self-doubt.
We ignore twenty great reviews and agonize over one bad one.
We check Amazon numbers even though everyone tells us they’re not a good indicator of anything at all. And when our ranking drops, we’re shattered.
With each book we write, we hit a point where we think our characters are stupid, our story is stupid and, most of all, we’re stupid and will never be able to turn this pile of c**p into a book.
How do we survive without slitting our wrists? [g]
That’s my question for today? What gets us through the bad times? (And hey, I won’t restrict the question to writers. If there’s anyone else out there who’s just as neurotic as we are, please feel free to answer.) Let’s share our tips, tell what keeps us motivated. Maybe we can learn something from each other.
Speaking for myself, there are a couple of things I try to remember when I’m wallowing in self-doubt:
1. I actually do know how to do what I do, and I can do it again [g].
2. I have good reasons for writing. I do it to bring the characters in my head to life, and to give readers something that entertains them, moves them, and maybe even makes them think.
I have a number of techniques that help me remember these things. One is to frame my book covers and hang them in my office, along with the awards my books have won. On my bookcase sits the vase of silk roses that my local RWA Chapters award for book sales. And something I plan to do is set up a scrapbook where I save little motivational items, so I can turn to them when I’m feeling down. Like, the contest judge who said, “Susan Lyons is one of my favorite writers.” Wow! The sailor who told me one of my characters reminded me of his wife, then shared the terrific story of how the two of them met. The readers who tell me that I gave them hope when I wrote about a plus-size woman finding a man who believes she’s truly beautiful. All these are reminders of why I do what I do – and that I do a halfway decent job of it too!
How about you? How do you keep yourself motivated, especially when you’re going through a period of self-doubt?
The Muse has a tough job inspiring writers. She can't just come up with any old idea; she has to give us one that makes us run straight to our keyboards and want to stay there so we can tap out the best story that makes readers wants to keep reading.
If writers are inspired by "Muses," where do Muses get their inspiration?
Well, if it's my Muse you were asking she'd reply in large part Disney. This is especially true since I treated her to a week long vacation in Walt Disney World. For my Muse there's no better place and nowhere else that thinks like she does.
Talking mice, why not? Happily ever after, of course! Travel from Italy to Japan in under five minutes, no problem! Disney is a place that thinks like a Muse, asking What if..........
What if......we dropped an elevator 13 stories?
What if.......a giant Yeti really does live in the mountains?
My Muse works hard trying to develop story worlds & characters that pull readers into a detailed place that's real. So, she appreciates getting to visit a place that works as hard, or even harder than she does creating a story world down to finite details (try changes in paving to signifiy progression from east to west of the Mississippi River.)
For writer's What inspires you?
And as a reader what are the little details that make a story real for you?
We write fiction. Yet we all know about the readers who insist that details be accurate and who’ll ream out an author if she gets something wrong – like the year a certain item of clothing became fashionable, or the calibre of a gun. This makes me wonder about a few things:
• If you’re a writer, when do you choose to bend the truth for the sake of the story?
• What details do readers want to be accurate? Vampires don’t exist (probably), but readers seem quite willing to accept them in fiction – and yet they’ll fuss over the accuracy of period clothing. How come?
• Do readers hold all fiction writers to the same standards of accuracy? Are they more lenient with paranormal, fantasy or futuristic? Less lenient with contemporary or historical?
• Do people nit-pick with TV shows and movies as well as books? For example, when CSI shows crime scene investigators trampling all over a crime scene in street clothing, shedding hair, fibres and who knows what all else, do a bunch of viewers write to tell them they’ve got it all wrong? Or when cases on Boston Legal go to court in a period of days, do viewers write to say that in real life the same process would take a year or more? (I don’t mean to pick on these shows – they happen to be two of my favorites! – and I’m quite prepared to accept the inaccuracies for the sake of great characters and an interesting story.)
