The Muse Wore Flip Flops

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Yesterday, I wrote a blog post about how excited I was to flip flop my schedule (summer pun intended) and put writing first. My schedule has been cooperating, too -- April and May have offered up writing events including my critique group's semi-annual writing retreat and Lancaster Christian Writers' Super Saturday, and the Pennwriters conference is just around the corner, promising workshops, socializing and a weekend where writing takes center stage. Earlier this week, I created and sent out my first ever author newsletter, complete with giveaway. Summer writing time is indeed in the air. 

We writers are a diverse bunch. There are those who live for silence and solitude, unable to work anywhere noisier than the library. Others depend on active social lives to get the neurons firing; without  feedback from the outside world, there can be no new ideas, no story lines, no dialogue. 

For many of us, the writing life is a tenuous balance between extroversion and introversion, with one providing inspiration and the other providing time to realize it. Sometimes the opportunities to exercise extroversion occur by choice; other times they come in disguised as day jobs and family obligations, perhaps even masquerading as roadblocks. Some writers seek solitude; others find it, unbidden.

Under ideal circumstances, each writer achieves his or her own balance, but sometimes circumstances weight the scales for us. Deadlines and job responsibilities tip the scales -- and not always in the way we'd like -- as do procrastination and exhaustion. Sometimes finishing a writing project is more like climbing a mountain than a date with the muse.

Yet we keep climbing. Whether we've chosen writing, or it has chosen us, it keeps showing up on our to-do lists, often at odd hours of the day. The longer we pursue it, the more likely it is to drag along companions of its own -- social media, promotional activities and platform building -- forcing us to open the door a little wider and grant them admittance, hoping they bring their colleagues acceptance and royalties to the party as well.

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But somehow, no matter how crowded or boring or monotonous the party gets, a serious writer keeps coming back. She joins the crowd, or finds a quiet corner or like-minded colleague and tips the scales in favor of productivity. She refills her water jug at the junction of conference and conversation and returns to her work because nothing is quite as satisfying as a writing day well-spent.

Except perhaps a good review and a royalty check.

Dealing with Writing Deadlines

 ISBN: 978-1-4930-0569-7
Release Date: October 7, 2014
 Globe Pequot/Lyons Press

The publisher gave us a choice of three awesome covers. It was a difficult decision, but we went with this one.

Now all I have to do is get the book written. The book sold on a proposal, which was the exciting part. So was getting the first part of the advance. But the proposal only had one of the sixteen chapters, so I'm still writing the others. That's the hard part. So is the tight deadline.

We wanted an October release to coincide with Domestic Violence Month, because many of the scenarios in the book are about relationships gone bad. Relationships that move from love to hate, or from friends to enemies. And when those relationships end, people can do all kinds of cruel things to get revenge. There are other scenarios in there too: teen bullies, coworker sabotage, and even cyber danger from strangers.

But to make an October release meant only a few months to write the book. And even worse, I had two other book deadlines between January and March. So I've been writing and writing and writing. That's the not-so-glamorous part of being an author. Working when you'd rather be playing. Editing when you'd rather be reading. Researching when you'd rather be sleeping.

So many people dream of being authors. They think it would be exciting to see their name on the cover of a book. And it certainly is. But most people don't think about the long hours of learning the craft, or of forcing yourself to write to make an approaching deadline, or of learning to take criticism so you can improve.

I belong to an online group of writers who all hope to be published someday. Some have succeeded, but others are newbies or working hard to get there. In December when I mentioned a tight deadline for some articles I was writing, one wanna-be author wrote: "I could never write anything under that kind of pressure."

I was tempted to write back that she should quit now, because if she reached her goal of getting an agent or editor, she'd find her whole life revolving around deadlines. Submission deadlines, editing deadlines, marketing deadlines... And if she sold more than one book, those deadlines might even overlap. Agents and editors don't want a one-book wonder. They want authors who will keep writing. Many authors sign a 2- or 3-book contract, which means even more deadlines, because usually book two is being written as book one is edited. Meanwhile book three is in the planning/outline stage. Once your book is accepted, there's no getting away from deadlines. So be sure that you really want to be published.

If you can't handle deadlines and pressure, you can still write. Write for yourself, for your family, for magazines that take completed articles. Write blogs, write for pleasure, write when the muse strikes. All of these are valid ways to enjoy your passion.

But when you long to see your byline on a book cover, be sure you understand the reality of getting to that point. Long hours of work and dedication to your craft. Participation in critique groups, attending writers conferences, submitting and getting rejected. And deadlines, deadlines, deadlines.

If you're willing to endure all of that, then you have what it takes to succeed. You will get there.