Monday, November 10, 2008

Snap! Crackle! Pop! Poof!

Friday's post has an interesting element about the fear of going like gangbusters as a writer, and then emptying the pot. Okay, that sounds like a mixed metaphor, but you get my drift.

There's nothing left. What had been simmering and boiling away (smelling divine, by the way), is gone and all that's left is gunk burned on the bottom of the pan.

It stinks and it's stuck.

There's an old saying that goes, "Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real." Sounds good, right? But novelists work very hard at making false things real. It's hard to get my mind around this one.

So, let's see . . . we have:

1. Fear of failure.

2. Fear of success.

3. Fear of not living up to our expectations.

4. Fear of being exposed as a fraud.

5. Fear the words will stop.

6. Fear of [fill in the blank].

There are, of course, an unlimited amount of sub-fears that fall under each of the primary fears.

Depressed?

Don't be. I think I know the cure.

Ready? . . .




Write. Then write some more. Write your head off.

I'm counting on this as the solution.


"First you're an unknown, then you write one book and move up to obscurity." -Martin Myers


CR: Orbit by John Nance

Getting ready to open up my work and exercise the cure.


It's all better with friends.

2 comments:

  1. What is this writing you talk about? Please tell me... Actually I've been a writing fool the last two days. By the end of today, I think I will have added 6 or 7K to my novel. Yay! How are you holding up?

    I love that quote at the end, a writer definitely does not find popularity overnight, if ever.

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  2. You are rockin' Ralene! (Hey, that would be a cool song title.)

    I'm only at 5594 for the month, but the day isn't over. I have plans. Yes. Yes, I do. . . .

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