Ever wondered how strange it was that we could designate ourselves with one single letter? I. Nothing simpler than that. Just a vertical bar. Kind of powerful.
That's not what I came to talk about, though. The truth is, I didn't know what I wanted to talk about. Too many options! Should I talk about my Instant love for the Kindle I bought at the end of March? About where I get my Ideas, or how they can jump at you even when you don't want them? About the difference between Idea and concept? Achieving Intimacy with your readers? What about how writers have to forgo Instant gratification in favour of working on a novel that might never bring any money home.
Plenty of topics. I couldn't decide.
It made me think of how often we need to make important decisions in our career. We work by ourselves. No one will tell us to write if we decide to go out with friends. In a way, we have more decisions to take than in your regular 9-to-5 job, and some of them have a major impact on our future.
Traditional publishing or self-publishing? Pen name or no pen name? What genre? When is the novel ready? Do I edit it again, or do I start another WIP? And that's without counting the endless decisions about the story itself.
Indecision isn't an option for writers. No one will choose for us. We need to learn to put our feet down, and take our writing life in our hands.
Scary? At times, perhaps. Liberating? Yes, ma'am!
Well, you described my current state of mind nicely.
ReplyDelete*laughs* Margo, I fall in that state very often. Every time I have a new idea, for example. Which is, well, every two weeks, at least?
ReplyDeleteThat's a fantastic summary of a handful of questions writers have to deal with. I imagine trying to record all of them would hit some kind of word limit!
ReplyDeleteWow. Good post. We have to make so many decisions when we tell a story that some of those other decisions are hard to make.
ReplyDeleteMay your decisions guide you to joy and wisdom
ReplyDeleteI do a lot of staring and then when I can stare no longer, I decide to write a blog post, because there isn't a lot of decision making there. And sometimes I am too tired to deal with the little decisions buzzing around my head.
ReplyDeleteJust stopping by for A-Z. Great post! Yes, we are certainly beset on all sides by options, but isn't it grand? Especially with the onset of e-publishing, it's good to know that there are more choices out there. Gone are the days you send out an envelope and wait for 3 months before hearing back. Liberating is the perfect word for it!
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