So it’s Wyrd Wednesday, and seriously, I’m a bit tapped out for anything really interesting to share with you (still stuck in rewrite hell – and yes, it is that).
Which of course makes me wish that there were such thing as a a magical rewrite fairy – like a fairy godmother, but able to help alleviate rewrites. Thing is, I’m not certain whether she’d be purple and sparkly, turning every page into wonderful things. Or, if she really wanted to help with rewrites, that she’d have a whip and a pointy stick to keep forcing you on (the purple sparkly gown seems off, so I’m guessing she’d be into a lot of black leather, too). A fairy godmother dominatrix.
Writing life is not, of course, all rainbows and unicorns. And, seeing as both the unicorn images and fairy godmother dominatrix images I find are copyrighted, this email is going to look a lot less rainbowy.
Seriously, though. While “what if” can be a powerful tool for writers, I think it can also be a loaded gun. Because while it’s great to think, “wow! what if now my hero transforms into an eight foot hall wolf – and bangs his head!” It’s not as useful as: “wow. what if the phone rang right now and someone wanted to pay a gillion dollars for my book, so then I’d have to finish it – and have ample cause to!”
Most of the time, fantasy and magic stay firmly stuck to our pages and words. Real life … well, there’s lots of balancing work, family, and maybe attempting to have a life somewhere in there, too. And if there’s writing, there will inevitably be rewrites.
Above my doorway, so I can see them from the computer I have a few different quotes that I try to use as inspiration. I’m thinking perhaps I need a unicorn peeing on the words – somehow that seems suitable.
Anyway, here are a few that I have:
Separate yourself from the road you’re on. The pitfalls are part of the road – NOT you.
Revising ripens the first draft. (Not by me, but I’m not sure who said it.)
Today is the day you succeed. No one can tell your stories but you.
Everyday, and with every word, you become an even better writer.
If it was easy, everyone would be a writer.
What’s above your doorway or computer? How do you keep pushing through rewrites and writing even when things are tough?
Thanks for reading, and hope you have a fabulous, unicorn-filled week. 😉 I’m off to the rewrites. They definitely won’t get done if I don’t work on them.
