What's Up Wednesday is a blog hop created by Jaime and, Erin Funk, to help writers connect. ***Please remember to link to their blogs and/or use one of the WUW buttons provided.***
WHAT I'M READING
I finished Also Known As by Robin Benway. YA spy books are some of my favorite things, so I was very happy to find Robin. It was a fun read. I also finally read House of Hades by Rick Riordan. I was kind of over Rick Riordan for a while, but I guess I took a long enough break because this was fun.
WHAT I'M WRITING
Editing Pyromancy. Hopefully by next week I'll be able to say that the first third is done. And once school starts, it is bound to go a lot faster. I just revamped the deadlines to give us an extra month. I'm afraid by the time it actually comes out we're going to have to remarket the first book in the series all over again. We're taking TOO LONG!
WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW
I woke up at 3:30 this morning because I've been having really vivid dreams for the past few nights. I heard a slithering sound on my floor, and was pretty sure it was zombies, but it turned out to be my youngest daughter, (not a zombie) asleep on the hard-wood floor of my room, which she hasn't done for years. I was pretty wide awake after that, so I came downstairs to do some writing.
My point is that although I'm pretty sure I've been inspired in the past week, I'm too tired to think of anything inspiring. The only thing I can think of is a pretty uninspiring article I read in Psychology Today. It was for life coaches, and it talked about how encouraging people to follow their dreams (as a career) is probably not always a great idea, because so many people's dreams lie in the same field, and the supply for those fields is glutted, which means that very talented people are willing to do those jobs for hardly any money. The writer of the article has gained quite a bit of fame for her various creative endeavors (including writing), but has never made any money at them. Instead she has a separate career to pay the bills.
In a weirdly roundabout way, I was comforted by this article, possibly because I'm contemplating going back to work soon. I've read so many articles about how indie authors are flourishing in this new environment, and I even know a few who are. But mostly, I know a lot of incredible authors, indie and traditional, who work a day job or whose spouse works while they stay at home to write and take care of children.
I guess I'm inspired by my reaction to this epiphany of mine. It is this: Writers gotta write. I'd love to make money at it, but I don't suppose it matters in the vast scheme of things. It's not like lack of money is going to keep me from writing. I'm usually a better writer when I'm busy anyway.
In a weirdly roundabout way, I was comforted by this article, possibly because I'm contemplating going back to work soon. I've read so many articles about how indie authors are flourishing in this new environment, and I even know a few who are. But mostly, I know a lot of incredible authors, indie and traditional, who work a day job or whose spouse works while they stay at home to write and take care of children.
I guess I'm inspired by my reaction to this epiphany of mine. It is this: Writers gotta write. I'd love to make money at it, but I don't suppose it matters in the vast scheme of things. It's not like lack of money is going to keep me from writing. I'm usually a better writer when I'm busy anyway.
WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO
Back to school stuff. One week from today, my kids will be back in school. My high school aged son is already back in soccer with a vengeance. (Two practices a day, 8-10 and then 3-5.) which means I'm back to fitting my life around my chauffeuring job. My oldest daughter is a senior this year, and I wish time would just slow down. So many heart-wrenching choices to make this year. I'm afraid she's not going to end up going to college within driving distance of home, and I can't even picture what that will be like. Ack. I'm not starting out my day thinking about that! Have a great week everyone!
Back to school stuff. One week from today, my kids will be back in school. My high school aged son is already back in soccer with a vengeance. (Two practices a day, 8-10 and then 3-5.) which means I'm back to fitting my life around my chauffeuring job. My oldest daughter is a senior this year, and I wish time would just slow down. So many heart-wrenching choices to make this year. I'm afraid she's not going to end up going to college within driving distance of home, and I can't even picture what that will be like. Ack. I'm not starting out my day thinking about that! Have a great week everyone!
I've read the Percy Jackson series but haven't gotten to any of Rick Riordan's other series yet. I was just telling my son yesterday that he needs to read those so we can watch the Sea of Monsters movie (wasn't a fan of the first one).
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thoughts on writing. I'd love to make some money on it, but ultimately it'll be worth my time if people enjoy my novels. Good luck with the editing! :)
Glad it didn't turn out to be zombies! :P I'd love to write full-time, but I don't think there's anything wrong with thinking of it as a hobby if you have a full-time job you really enjoy (I freelance edit, but I'd love to be able to focus on my own writing!). Have a great week! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts on writing. My husband keeps trying to tell me just to enjoy the journey and whatever success comes with it, but the perfectionist in me wants to take the world by storm. This is definitely one of those fields that's overrun, but I suppose that's why I have teaching as a backup.
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of this YA spy novel, and I'm a sucker for reading them. I am also so entertained by them, but they aren't my usual must-read genre; more a delightful surprise every time I pick one up. I'll have to see about this one.
ReplyDeleteI laughed out loud at the slithering zombie being your youngest daughter; I'm sure when I have children, I'll mistake them for zombies, as well. It seems unavoidable, really. But the epiphany that follows is one, I think, unpaid writers will continuously have through the end of time, and one we each need to have as individuals over and over again. Would I love to be paid as an author? Yes. Will I stop writing books and short stories and little drabbles because I don't get paid? No. Will I be very happy in other jobs in my life? Yes. I can become deluded by the idea that writing for a living would somehow alter the basic nature of jobs: sometimes, they suck and you hate them, even when you love what you're doing on the whole. I have to remind myself that writing isn't separate from the upswings and downswings of life generally.
Thank you for sharing this post! Your epiphany is a thoughtful share.
Writers *definitely* gotta write. It's our natural way of being ;)
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with those edits and all the back to school prep.
Amen on the writing-for-money front! I can't count how many times I've been baffled by the success of some indie authors whose work is, shall we say, unusual. But, each to their own - I think the only thing to be done is work hard and write to tell a story, not for applause.
ReplyDeleteI'm yet to get into Rick Riordan, but I have a feeling I'd enjoy his work :) Have a wonderful week!
- Caitie
I like your writing epiphany. I think the best things to devote time to in your life are those things that you would keep on doing if you weren't getting paid. It's nice to find something that makes money, but it doesn't mean you have to stop doing everything else. :)
ReplyDeleteLOVED your story about the 'slithering zombie'! Hah! Too funny.
Hope you have an amazing week!
Your writing epiphany *is* inspiring and comforting! I think that's the thing that's good to keep in mind - that writing shouldn't be about making money; it's more like a calling. Also, I'm really glad it wasn't a zombie slithering around on the floor, lol. It sounds like you handled it a lot calmer than I would've. I probably would have screamed, haha.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that you liked HOUSE OF HADES. I have that, but I still haven't read MARK OF ATHENA. I really liked SON OF NEPTUNE, but like you said, I've been thinking that I'm over the series. After hearing what you said though, I'll give it another shot. It's been a sufficiently long enough time away. :)
P.S. Thanks for your compliments on my post - and yes! Azkaban is the best book! (It's my favorite of the movies too.)