Summer is the Time to Buckle Down and Just Do It July 7, 2014

Today I got some new books, not for fiction reading (which is also incredibly important), but I decided that if I wasn’t going to take a writing class this summer (like I had been planning to…), I had to get some real writing books and buckle down and just do it.

As I’ve probably stated on this blog before, I love writing. It is near and dear to my heart and it would be a dream come true to be able to make a living off of writing some day. However, writing is typically a pretty solitary endeavor and I am a hopelessly extroverted person. Yes, I know that there are critique groups and writing clubs and things like that, but at least for me, I need to be alone if I’m actually going to do any productive writing, which I also suspect is the case for many other people.

Thus, it is really, really, really hard for me to make myself sit down and just write sometimes. I love being around people and socializing and getting out of the house. In fact, I actually get really antsy and even cranky when I’m trapped inside for too long. It will usually get to the point where I’m literally doing nothing but sitting around and I still won’t be able to convince myself to write.

But I think that at this time in my life it’s about time that I either give up writing or really get going. After all, I’m not in school for English and I really don’t plan on it. My reasoning behind that is I really do not want to teach, which is what I feel like I’ll end up doing if I don’t have a novel or something take off soon enough. Now, I love teachers. I love taking classes in everything, including writing, but it’s just not for me.

So here I go. It’s time to get serious and do this.

Do any of you guys feel like you have to force yourselves to write even though you love it? I know that’s a weird dichotomy, but I’m sure there must be others out there. What do you do? Let me know in the comments below!

 

 

The Mortal Instruments//Writing and Pop Culture August 13, 2013

Hello fellow writers and any other readers 🙂
I know this is my first update in quite a while and I’m really sorry for that! It’s been a busy summer and I’ve been working hard to keep up with all of my weekly page goals, maintaining a social life, moving, and my job of course.
As the title suggests, I want to address something that pertains strongly to the writing community: the impending release of the Mortal Instruments: City of Bones film.

I think that this is a wonderful opportunity, as are other films based on books, to give the fiction community more exposure.
Now, while I don’t often actually make it to the theater to see movies, I do manage to see my own fair share of teasers and trailers and things like that on TV, online, and other such media. From my experience, it seems to me that Hollywood is running out of ideas for films. Each seems to be more of the same, raunchy, comedic, and thoughtless films that, while commercially successful most of the time, require little actual writing and effort to produce I think. Whereas, for novels to become movies, they must so exceptionally well-written (excluding the Twilight Saga…) to draw in readers that Hollywood seeks to profit off of their success and fame. Harry Potter and The Hunger Games come to mind immediately.
Of course, that’s not to say that every comedic film is unworthy of being scene. In fact, quite the contrary is true. I often find myself tired of the slew of action movies that Hollywood also churns out, and would like something more relaxing to indulge in. To that I reference Pitch Perfect. If you’ve not seen it (which I conclude to be highly unlikely) you must.
My point is simply that I find it incredibly exciting to see another film based off of a quality novel that I have still yet to complete. The writing world is not as easy to break into as other sectors of the entertainment industry in my opinion. As writers, authors, and novelists, we do not have the luxury of a plethora of highly publicized TV shows searching for the next big thing. I do not mean to belittle the work that winners of American Idol, The Voice, X Factor, or any other competition do. Artists successful in those areas have worked hard and deserve what they have earned. I only mean to point out that as writers, we often do not have the same level of exposure as other industries do.
In light of more and more films being based off of novels, I solely redirect more of my hard work to finishing my own novel in hopes that someday I could be that successful. In addition, I encourage anyone else reading this post to press on with your writing even if it seems like you’re getting nowhere. We must always remember that these writers also had to build their audience and start somewhere.
I once read that J.K. Rowling was hardly making rent before she finished the first novel in her Harry Potter series. That first novel took her several years to complete, but she is now wealthier than the Queen of England.
Perhaps none of my novels will ever be that successful, but if my writing is able to one day pay my bills, I think I would be content. However, these novels becoming renown and famous, that is one of my dreams and goals as a writer.
Needless to say, it’s impossible to say who will draft the next bestseller that becomes a motion picture, but it could be any of us. So press on. Every page you write every day will make you better and more polished, even pages that you end up erasing or scrapping later on. Every word you write will further you toward your goal and refine your craft.
Goodnight and keep writing always~