Thing4 recently had a birthday. She turned 11. At school, she was discussing birthday plans with Friend. Third Girl, who she doesn’t particularly click with, approached them as they were whispering. Thing4 wasn’t sure what to do.
On the one hand, she didn’t want to mention the party and have Third Girl feel left out, but she also didn’t want her to think she was whispering about her behind her back.
Friend made the decision for her, and told Third Girl that Thing4 was having a party. Of course, Third Girl immediately asked if she could come.
In Thing4’s words, “I didn’t know what to do, so I turned around and ran away.”
I laughed and laughed when I heard this. Isn’t that what we all want to do sometimes? But as Mrs. Merrick said last week, we need to do hard things.
One of the most common questions I get asked is, “How’s the writing going?”
I usually say, “Great.” But the real answer is, “I’m doing hard things.”
I’m working more than full-time at this now. I sit at my desk for between 8-10 hours most days.
Does that mean I’m pumping out book after book?
No. It means I have a schedule that I follow. An intense one.
Here is what I typically do in one week:
- Marketing work
- Writing blog posts
- Making Facebook author page posts
- Taking book and cat photos for Instagram posts
- Updating Pinterest pins
- Keeping my Goodreads account up-to-date
- Working on my newsletter
- Business work
- Making website updates and tweaks
- Bookkeeping
- Researching agents and publishers
- Researching and registering for conferences (and making travel plans)
- Working on plotting charts and character outline templates
- Checking posts and messages in all the writing groups/boards I belong to
- Completing critiques on work by other writers in my critique group
- Education
- Working on an intense content marketing course I’m currently enrolled in
- Reading newsletters, saved posts and group messages about growing writing skills and learning more about business
- Studying and making a ridiculous amount of notes in my many non-fiction writing books to learn more about characterization, plot and structure, self-editing, mastering suspense, etc.
- Reading other fiction books in my genre to help learn the cozy mystery world inside-out (although this is outside regular work time)
- Writing
- Plotting books (making detailed outlines and scribbling all over large sheets of paper and many sticky notes)
- Completing character charts (I have pages and pages on each character)
- Oh yeah – WRITING
- Editing
- Editing again
- Editing again, and again, and again.
So that’s a run-down of how my writing is REALLY going. Do I feel overwhelmed? Yes. Am I tired? Yes. Do I feel like turning around and running away?
Heck no!
I LOVE it! I love all of it. I’m one of those weird types who equally loves the creating and the business side. I love this opportunity in my life to be able to tackle this all full-time.
Is it easy? No. Even though I love it, there are definitely moments (usually at least once or twice a day) where I have to push myself to keep going. The writing life is hard. But I choose to do hard things.
Above all, I love how I feel I’m doing what God wants me to do, and honouring him with my life.
Talk to you again soon!
Wendy.
