This was actually said to me the other day and it made me stop in my tracks.
Writing isn't exciting.
Writing is sitting at a desk for hours upon hours, pouring out your soul as you type. Then it's more hours deleting the work you spent hours on simply because your mood has changed and now you hate everything you created.
It's months of creatively tearing your hair out to make the vision in your mind match the words on the screen. Then it's time for editing - don't get me started on the pain involved with shredding your beloved work to pieces to make it fit the right box for reader consumption.
As for publishing... *shudder*
Writing can be a work of love, but it can also be a painful labour of dogged determination and absolute stubbornness.
Have I put you off yet?
No?
You might just be stubborn enough for the gig.
But I haven't got to the best part yet. The part that really sets you apart from the normal people.
That's right. Writing is incredibly anti-social.
While other people get to go to work and interact with real living people, your interactions play out inside your head and on the page.
When you do actually go outside you find yourself watching people, you see how they behave and what they do. You know you're beyond help when you find yourself scripting their actions. It's hard to relax and simply enjoy the moment when you're analysing it, you find yourself permanently placed on the outside looking in. The worst part is - you put yourself there!
It's well known that I take a notepad and pen with me everywhere because inspiration can strike at any time and once it hits I can't concentrate on anything else until it's written down. I need a "Do Not Disturb" sign to hang round my neck when I sit down with my pad and pen
So I urge you, fellow writers, it's time to unite! Separately, at our computers, without real people around to interrupt us.
You're either a writer or a reader.
It's time to choose sides.
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