Léna is also a Regional Manager for Writopia Lab whose mission is to foster joy, literacy, and critical thinking in kids and teens from all backgrounds through creative writing.

"Well, the question is, what do you want to believe? Do you want to live in a world where things are possible, or in one where they aren't?" Cin, Edges.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Writing Ain't for Sissies

snoopy - TypingImage by -l.i.l.l.i.a.n- via Flickr
Writing ain't for sissies, but sometimes I think of myself as one. On the surface, it may look like I chose a nice, calm career. What could be better than stringing words together and writing them down? Writers do that, don't they? It's easy for them, right?

Ha! We grapple with words, argue with them, fight them. We reach into the recesses of our soul and put it out there for everyone to opine on. I thought that writers could hide behind their words, but they can't. I can't. Thanks to this blog, I have discovered a new way of writing and discovering, where I can't be anything but myself.

I was surprised by how crazy publishing actually made me, but I think I'm coming out of it now, with renewed vim and vigor.  I know that I'm in it for the long haul, and that I'm not a sissy, even though . . . okay, I won't go all Elmer Gantry on you. (Litany of woes!)

I have so many things to look forward to with regards to getting out there and pimpin' for my book, meeting other writers and book lovers, being part of a world I have only dreamed about.

I had lunch with my agent on Monday to go over my WIP and I got a real shot in the arm because he was so enthusiastic about my manuscript and my growth as a writer. (The last time we had lunch, over a year ago, I started blogging! I wonder what life changing effect he'll have this time?)

I am sinking my teeth into another revision before he sends it out, but this revision is more of a polish, where I labor over word choices, and get the tension as tight as I possibly can. The manuscript isn't surgery: it is as much a stand-alone as it is a companion to Edges.

It takes soooo long to birth a novel where characters and setting intertwine and are multi-dimensional. I don't even count how many drafts I do anymore. And that is the part I can control. I can't control whether it gets published or what people think. A published book becomes a different entity, and as an author, you have to ultimately be able to let that go.

No, it definitely ain't for sissies!



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10 comments:

  1. Hey Lena, I teach 8th grade English at an inner city school in Tucson. Is that the right age for Edges? It sounds interesting, I will definitely check it out.

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  2. Well said! Nope, not for sissies. You need to be STRONG to wrestle those words into place and BRAVE to let them out into the world!

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  3. Hi Tim! 8th grade is perfect. If you like, we can arrange a SKYPE visit with me and your classroom to talk about the book and writing!

    Carrie - I'll have to add strong and brave to my love and service mantra!

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  4. Amen!

    I loved these lines: "I can't control whether it gets published or what people think. A published book becomes a different entity, and as an author, you have to ultimately be able to let that go."
    Your post made me think of a Robert Henri quote: "The fact is that a picture...sends out agents that stimulate a creation which takes place in the consciousness of the observer." I like that you pointed out the same is true of writing. You're a brave person to let your beloved characters out into the world to enter someone else's consciousness where they become creations of you and the reader. I admire your courage. You ain't a sissy!

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  5. I understand you so good. once I had a really hard period, when my imagination just exploded my brain and made my consciousness suffer. That's why I decided to stop my writing career for a while and even when I need to write some documents, I just ask https://thrivingwriter.com for that.

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  6. This article is about writing. Writing is obviously a difficult task like blog writing, article writing and online essay writers. To arrange the worlds in an order is not an easy task to do. It takes a lot of our time to create a written document about any thing that may be essay blog or article writing.

    ReplyDelete
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