Skip to main content

How Do You Deal????




Hello All,
It's time for another Insecure Writer's Group Post hosted by the illustrious Alex J. Cavanaugh.
 A lot has happened since I last blogged. As many of you may know, during a  pitch conference I attended in March, editors from two publishing houses requested my manuscript for review.

 Needless to say, I've been writing my fingers to the bone ever since.  I finally whittled the book down from 127,000  to 95,000 words. Killing my darlings was tough, but now that they're gone, my novel reads better for it.  I finally submitted it on Saturday and am now playing the waiting game.

Although an offer from a publisher would be a dream come true, I also understand that I'm just a drop in a sea of writers.  It's a long shot at best. Yet, I'm not going to let this fact get me down.  Instead,  I've decided to work on the synopsis for the sequel to my story, while I'm waiting for a response from the publishers.  Writing helps me transfer all the negative/worries into something positive.

This got me to wondering how many of you deal with the waiting game?  Do you bite your nails, continually check emails, or do you distract yourself? Essentially how do you deal??? I'd be interested to know.  Until next time, happy writing, my friends.    
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

You Never Fail Until You Stop Trying

Back in December, I learned about an unpublished novel contest that assessed the following criteria: characterization, setting, plot, dialogue, voice and writing skill.  In addition to all this, the MS would receive feedback from the judges. Not a bad deal, right?  Although my draft was far from complete, I decided to enter it anyway, reasoning that the critique would identify areas of weakness in my writing.  Well, needless to say, I finally heard back last week.  The first forty pages of my draft were returned with the following letter attached:   The judges had mixed reactions to this particular manuscript, with some feeling it was well-    paced and  another saying there was not enough plot movement! One questioned whether the dialogue fit the time/  year/culture, while others felt it did. They all agreed on liking the expository details and descriptions, but   wondered where the story was going.  Consider beginnin...
44 comments
Read more

Insecure Writer's Support Group- Are you a Negative Nelly???

I t's time for another Insecure Writer's Support Group post.  I am always amazed at how easily I can list the things I'm insecure about, but ask me to add something positive, and I'm at a loss for words.  No matter how much I accomplish, I never stop to enjoy the spoils of my hard work. Instead, I tend to focus on the obstacles I've yet to overcome.  After giving this some thought, I concluded that I am a Negative Nelly. For some reason, which is beyond me, I find that it's often easier to see the bad, than to acknowledge the good.  For example, if my son brings home a B on a test, I say, "Next time, lets try for an A."  Wouldn't it be better to acknowledge his effort, and be happy it wasn't a "C"?  If another writer praises my work-in-progress, I immediately think they didn't read it.  Wouldn't it be better to say thank you and enjoy the compliment?  Life's too short to look down on ourselves. How can we e...
23 comments
Read more

Writing Through Burn Out

I'm suffering from a bad case of Spring Fever, folks.  I only have seven more chapters left to conclude my novel, but for the life of me can't muster up the inspiration to write them.  With such beautiful weather, my attention and energy has been devoted to gardening and biking.  I haven't written in at least three weeks.  Every time I walk into the office my computer sits there, staring at me accusingly, bidding me to finish what I started three years ago.  My responsible side wants to comply, but the  more carefree side, won't allow it.  Perhaps I'm suffering from burn out, I don't know, but whatever the case, it doesn't seem like this phase is going to pass anytime soon.  Professionals like Stephen king and Truman Capote recommend that authors write every day.  Although I've never agreed with this approach, after all my down time I am rethinking it.  In the past, whenever I tried to write without being inspired, I turned...
21 comments
Read more