This week, as I prepared myself to write this blog, I was going back and forth about what topic or idea to blog about.
For example, just that simple sentence had me pondering whether I wanted to say ‘toing and froing’ or ‘going back and forth’; both meaning the same thing, but which one sounded better to my readers?
That exercise alone demonstrates that writing can be difficult. Or is it hard? How about arduous? No, that sounds a bit pompous. Let’s try… strenuous? No, that sounds like a workout…how about laborious? No, that defiantly sounds physical. Now I got it… grueling? Yeah no, that sounds like it came out of a horror movie.
You get my drift? Um, is that still a saying? Perhaps I’m dating myself… Will my readers understand, the phrase, ‘You get my drift’ and on and on it goes. The life of a writer…well at least this novice writer, that’s for sure. Second guessing myself or listening to the nasty little ‘editor’ sitting on my shoulder can really bog me down.
I’ve been told by my successful writer friends, reminded by almost every article or blogpost I’ve read and, every podcast I listen to, “Just write and keep writing. It will get easier and better”.
I sure hope so; it’s been one of those weeks, not many words and a lot of self-doubt. In keeping with the theme, here is this week’s inspirational quote:
If you can tell stories, create characters, devise incidents, and have sincerity and passion, it doesn’t matter a damn how you write.
– Somerset Maugham
Have a good week!
Tamara
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Published by Tamara Mercer
Okay, off the top I want to declare I was once a ‘corporate cog in the wheel’; in fact, I was that cog for over 27 years, and miserable for most of the time. In 2006, my entire department was outsourced. Happy to have been kicked to the curb, I turned my attention to what I was going to do next. Not surprising, I entered the world of self-employment that lead to several mediocre, haphazard positions; including a home renovation business, several direct marketing forays into the health and wellness world and finally two failed attempts at selling horse related products. In between, I had to take jobs at the local box stores to make ends meet.
I was tired of following the beat of society’s drum. Feeling defeated and dejected, I stepped back to look at my life and asked myself, “what do I truly want?” I decided I needed the ‘free spirit’ inside of me to flourish. Of course, I also needed to make some money. After all life is not free.
About this same time, a good friend was starting to experience some success as a writer. She and I had always spoken about writing, and she had taken the daring leap to becoming a full-time writer a few years earlier. As the author of a successful series, her success was now inspiring me to consider a dream I’d always had, but kept quiet inside me. With her encouragement, I decided to find more time for writing. The answer had surfaced, “I want to be an writer!”
That was a few years ago. Where am I now? Well, I’m not a best selling author – yet. I spend as much time as I can writing when I’m not busy at home or working. My husband and I own a small ranch that’s also home to horses, dogs and a feisty barn cat. We don’t have children, of the traditional variety, so we give all our love to the four-legged kids. Horses are a big part of my life. They are the calm that keep me centered on this earth. Fortunately, I’ve managed to develop a small business working with horses so, while I eventually want to write full-time, at least I’m much happier at work now versus those unrewarding days as a cog.
As far as developing as a writer, I’ve written a few horse-related articles, and a short essay, about one of my own horses, was published in an anthology. Currently, I have three books in the works. While my writing doesn’t revolve around horses, there’s always one or more horses layered into my stories. I get a lot of writing ideas and tips by listening to podcasts. I think I might actually be a podcast junkie! I am fascinated by the entire writing industry and how it is evolving.
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Tamara Mercer 