Am I the only one or are writers in general impatient? In this blog I will talk about several things I have experienced impatience-wise. I might say writers and maybe it is true for more than just me, but I am really talking about my own experiences. Let me know if you can relate to some or all of them! Here are a number of ways in which I, as a writer, am impatient.
-Finishing the Manuscript
I write quickly...feverishly, almost. When I start a manuscript, my entire goal in life, practically, is to finish it. I loathe letting it sit, waiting to be finished. If it were up to me I'd probably sit at the computer day and night and bang it out until it was done. Since my two girls don't seem to think that's a good idea, I work on it every chance I get as they allow until it's done. I put off housework. I put off clients and paying jobs. I put off bills. It's the way I like to write. I like to get my ideas out there and off my mind before I forget them...before I forget character characteristics and mannerisms...before I forget where I was going with the plot and so on. Because of this I tend to be able to crank out entire books in a month or less, even on very little amounts of time each day. I had one fellow author ask me once, what's the hurry? You seem in a rush to finish! And yes, I guess I am, in some ways. Because if I don't finish it today, who knows what tomorrow will bring and what mind frame I'll be in and what might be different! Does that make me impatient? Or is it just part of my writing process? I know others that write painstakingly slow.
-Editing
Editing, like writing, is something I want to be done and behind me as quickly as possible. The reasons are completely different. When it comes to editing, I don't enjoy the process like I do writing. Editing causes me to over analyze what I've written and second guess every word or phrase. While I might like offering suggestions to other authors, I don't particularly like reading my own work in that light. So when editing begins, I look forward to it being over. Does that make me impatient? Normal? Or just anti-editing? (Which I'm not because I really believe it helps makes the books that much better in the end...just a tough process!)
-Submissions
I know this is true of other writers because I've talked to some like me myself. When you submit a book or query to an agent or publisher, the impatience settles in. Sure, their website says it'll be 4-6 weeks or longer until they read and respond, but your story will stand out, right? So you check your email daily...hourly. You'll get an answer! You will! :) More likely you will get that answer when you have finally given up hope that an answer will come quickly and you stop checking quite so much. I got my latest book contract offer while having my taxes done. Joy! Some good came out of the tax office!! That answer was very fast compared to the others I have gotten in the past, but normally, the wait is agonizing. When I'm waiting, I try to put myself on the other side of the fence. The editors/publishers/agents have a lot on their plates. They can't simply sit and read submissions all day everyday or they would never actually put any books out there...I say as I pace the floor waiting for an answer on my latest submission. :)
-Results
When a book comes out, everyone should buy it. Now. It's creative. It's genius. And you've been working on it for months, if not years. It's one of the most important things in your life at that moment. Shouldn't it be important to everyone else as well? Haha. We wish! When a new books comes out, it's hard to wait for results...sales...and marketing efforts to start piling up. My husband put "Someone Always Loved You" online back in 2010. I wrote it more like in 2003 or 2004. Today, in 2014, it is finally selling 100 or so copies a month. Sometimes, the results can take years, but who wants to wait?!
-Ideas
When I have ideas, it takes all of my control and efforts not to go into writer mode and sit down and hammer them out. The reason I do not is because of the above item...when I start, I can't stop until it's done. I try to put the ideas in the back of my mind where they can cook, but not fester too much and bug me. When they do that, there's no stopping the fingers on the keyboard. Hence Mamarazzi's creation back in January. :)
As a writer, do you find that you are impatient about any of these things? Are there other ways you see impatience in your craft? Or are you patient about every aspect, much unlike me? Patience is a virtue and I know it. When I was in radio, my co-workers believed I was the most patient person in the world based on many situations they saw me in. Until I had children, I agreed. Patience takes work and practice and it's never easy. As a writer, I practice it often and yet, I am still very impatient about many of these things in some ways. But it makes up who I am as a writer and when it comes to that...I am who I am!
-Finishing the Manuscript
I write quickly...feverishly, almost. When I start a manuscript, my entire goal in life, practically, is to finish it. I loathe letting it sit, waiting to be finished. If it were up to me I'd probably sit at the computer day and night and bang it out until it was done. Since my two girls don't seem to think that's a good idea, I work on it every chance I get as they allow until it's done. I put off housework. I put off clients and paying jobs. I put off bills. It's the way I like to write. I like to get my ideas out there and off my mind before I forget them...before I forget character characteristics and mannerisms...before I forget where I was going with the plot and so on. Because of this I tend to be able to crank out entire books in a month or less, even on very little amounts of time each day. I had one fellow author ask me once, what's the hurry? You seem in a rush to finish! And yes, I guess I am, in some ways. Because if I don't finish it today, who knows what tomorrow will bring and what mind frame I'll be in and what might be different! Does that make me impatient? Or is it just part of my writing process? I know others that write painstakingly slow.
-Editing
Editing, like writing, is something I want to be done and behind me as quickly as possible. The reasons are completely different. When it comes to editing, I don't enjoy the process like I do writing. Editing causes me to over analyze what I've written and second guess every word or phrase. While I might like offering suggestions to other authors, I don't particularly like reading my own work in that light. So when editing begins, I look forward to it being over. Does that make me impatient? Normal? Or just anti-editing? (Which I'm not because I really believe it helps makes the books that much better in the end...just a tough process!)
-Submissions
I know this is true of other writers because I've talked to some like me myself. When you submit a book or query to an agent or publisher, the impatience settles in. Sure, their website says it'll be 4-6 weeks or longer until they read and respond, but your story will stand out, right? So you check your email daily...hourly. You'll get an answer! You will! :) More likely you will get that answer when you have finally given up hope that an answer will come quickly and you stop checking quite so much. I got my latest book contract offer while having my taxes done. Joy! Some good came out of the tax office!! That answer was very fast compared to the others I have gotten in the past, but normally, the wait is agonizing. When I'm waiting, I try to put myself on the other side of the fence. The editors/publishers/agents have a lot on their plates. They can't simply sit and read submissions all day everyday or they would never actually put any books out there...I say as I pace the floor waiting for an answer on my latest submission. :)
-Results
When a book comes out, everyone should buy it. Now. It's creative. It's genius. And you've been working on it for months, if not years. It's one of the most important things in your life at that moment. Shouldn't it be important to everyone else as well? Haha. We wish! When a new books comes out, it's hard to wait for results...sales...and marketing efforts to start piling up. My husband put "Someone Always Loved You" online back in 2010. I wrote it more like in 2003 or 2004. Today, in 2014, it is finally selling 100 or so copies a month. Sometimes, the results can take years, but who wants to wait?!
-Ideas
When I have ideas, it takes all of my control and efforts not to go into writer mode and sit down and hammer them out. The reason I do not is because of the above item...when I start, I can't stop until it's done. I try to put the ideas in the back of my mind where they can cook, but not fester too much and bug me. When they do that, there's no stopping the fingers on the keyboard. Hence Mamarazzi's creation back in January. :)
As a writer, do you find that you are impatient about any of these things? Are there other ways you see impatience in your craft? Or are you patient about every aspect, much unlike me? Patience is a virtue and I know it. When I was in radio, my co-workers believed I was the most patient person in the world based on many situations they saw me in. Until I had children, I agreed. Patience takes work and practice and it's never easy. As a writer, I practice it often and yet, I am still very impatient about many of these things in some ways. But it makes up who I am as a writer and when it comes to that...I am who I am!
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