I don't know about you, but as much as I love my WIP, I'm ready for it to be done. It feels like I've been working on it for a long time, which I have, and I still have more than half to go. It's still coming, better than I thought it would be at this point, actually, and it still excites me. But part of me feels almost upset with the rest of me that I have yet to complete a novel. Granted I am only 22, which I keep being reminded isn't that old, but it will still feel so utterly fantastic to be done.
But the key is to just keep writing, right? And as impatient as I am, I love what I'm doing. I love the writing process, and I'll be excited to go back and start editing. I love the marketing and networking that is becoming more and more a part of being a writer. I love reading and learning and observing, and writing everything down in the notebook I always have in my purse. It's fulfilling and fun. Still. Having a finished novel will make me feel like all of it is beginning to pay off.
Do you ever feel impatient with yourself and your projects? I'm sure I'm not the only one. I think the hard thing is wanting leaps and bounds of progress, when those leaps and bounds come from the work and little bits of progress that happen every day. Just remembering that, reminding myself that every word counts, helps. What do you do to help yourself be patient with the day to day growth?
Sarah Allen
I tend to be impatient at times. I have learned that anytime I tell myself I am done, I need to retreat and take a break. Sometimes my impatience is due to fatigue. Other times just needing a break from the screen. But no matter what the driving force, I know now that a little time away and I will likely find more to improve.
ReplyDeleteOh my, yes. Impatience and that desire to be perfect can really take a toll on creativity. For a long time I was stuck in a rut, where I wasn't accomplishing anything. I was too impatient with my progress, my lack of perfection, etc. Finally I started to learn that we have to give ourselves permission to be imperfect, to enjoy the process, to make mistakes ... it makes life so much easier.
ReplyDeleteI feel impatient when I read about other writers who are in the querying stage. I'm still working on my manuscript and I'm not ready to submit it yet. It would be nice to enter the ring earlier rather than later, but I know I shouldn't start before I'm ready.
ReplyDeleteCute pic! Hit me back, alphabetalife.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI think you wouldn't be a writer if you didn't get impatient with your writing. We all want to get that novel finished, submitted and sit back waiting for it to appear on the shelves. But it isn't as simple as that is it. Writing the book is the easy part. Finding someone to represent you, marketing and promotion is when the hard work really starts.
ReplyDeleteCJ xx
Hey! I'm 46. I took on my passion of writing seriuosly about three years ago. I'm just now in the final stages of my first WIP. And, I just finished drafting the first book to my cliffhanger series. OMG.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I get impatient, I pick up a good book to read, get snacks and just sit and enjoy the afternoon.
ReplyDeleteMan I know how you feel. Impatience NEVER goes away either. I've finished three novels, all of them duds that are never going to see the light of day. So I keep getting impatient. When will I be able to write something that can see the light of day?
ReplyDeletePlus, I am rewriting my fourth book right now, and I REALLY just want to be done with it.
Cheer up! Like you said, slow and steady gets there.
I remember when I got to the final stretch of my book Requiem, I had 10 chapters outlined left to go and wrote out a schedule to get it done in two weeks. I burned through it in half that time.
ReplyDeleteNow on book two I can hardly get started it seems. Only three chapters into it and every time I finally get to sit down and write on it, its past 9pm and i'm too tired.
I know this one so well. I just have to keep reminding myself that I'm nearer to the end than the beginning.
ReplyDeleteOf course I feel that way! Patience can be hard but it's a HUGE part of this business let me tell you. :D I've gotten to the point though, where I truly enjoy the process with each MS I create. There's no hurry because even when you are querying or on submission the wait is part of it. So you might as well enjoy the journey! :D
ReplyDeleteSarah, I feel so deeply the same about this. It's the kind of thing that makes me want to go back to short stories--write it in one sitting, revise in the next sitting, edit and polish in the next, and you're done!
ReplyDeleteI think we get impatient because we are at the word-by-word level and forget that we are WRITING A BOOK! It's a huge, huge wonderful thing we are undertaking, something most people will only ever dream of doing.
Keep pressing ahead, and if you need a break, write a short story. :)
I am one of the most impatient people I know... I am constantly impatient with myself because I write very slow. It's painful sometimes. Every day I have to remind myself that it is not a race.
ReplyDeleteBut you are young and you are writing. You will finish and the timeline will be right for you.
I've gotten it reversed as I'm more of proscratinator than anything else.
ReplyDeleteSince I've already got the finished project, my problem is everything else that is associated with the finished project.
Since I loathe doing that, I've been doing other things to avoid doing what needs to be done.
Yes, I'm as impatient as a person gets during the first draft. Though, once that's finished, I settle in and can edit without that impatient feeling. It's probably because getting the words out the first time is hardest for me. Once they're out there, I enjoy editing them into something better.
ReplyDeleteI know the feeling. There have been times when I have just been so tired of writing that I wanted to throw my WIP out the window. It is during those times that I retreat, work on something else a bit, and give myself time to remember why I wanted to write in the first place.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck!
The articles are really awesome Sarah. I would love to read all of them. I have started my career as a Technical Writer and the words fall short to express my feelings when a Techie guy ask me "What you do actually"? It's very tough to make them understand our contribution towards a project development.
ReplyDeleteBy reading the Writer blogs, it makes me happy that, being a writer, we can also have our own space and our own authored book.