The Earth’s rotation creates tides both high and low. Our career as authors follows those same intrinsic ebbs and flows, which leads to this month’s IWSG question: What are your writer highs (the good times)? And what are your writer lows (the crappy times)?
Highs and Lows. Ebbs and Flows. And so goes every writing career. What goes up, must come down – and vice versa.
THE HIGH:
- A new idea! Spilling forth in a glorious tumble of engrossing scenes, characters that become your best friends, and dialog just begging to be written.
the low:
- Separation anxiety. Writing “The End” and having to let go of all those dear friends who’ve filled your hours and hours and hours with conversations and dramas, poor choices and triumphs, living with you day after day like part of the family . . . then moving away.
THE HIGH:
- Having the best editor/agent on the planet LOVE your writing and your books who promises you a long and glorious career.
the low:
- Having them leave/retire or the line close, leaving you an orphan.
THE HIGH:
- That exciting freshly unique new idea that pours out onto page after page after page.
the low:
- Having a bestselling author release the same exact book and hit the Times List the month before your title is pitched or debuts, or the publisher just purchased five of the same kind of books.
THE HIGH:
- You can’t type fast enough to keep up with the flow of your exciting new project.
the low:
- Carpal tunnel surgery/computer crash.
THE HIGH:
- Having four hours to write, uninterrupted.
the low:
- Spending it on Social Media . . . just to catch up on things.
- Getting a call from an old friend who needs to dump about family drama.
- Lying down to rest your eyes while you mull over the sequence of events and waking up four and a half hours later.
- Having to wait for Microsoft to update.
We’ve had them, we’ll survive them because these are the things that make us not just writers, but authors!!
I’m excited to be one of the co-hosts of this month’s IWSG along with Kim Elliott, Melissa Maygrove, Chemist Ken, and Lee Lowery! I’m also off on a ‘writer’s escape’ at the home of one of my critique partners, getting words done on my W-I-P, hoping for the weather to improve enough to sit outside, and binge-watching Acorn TV. Life is GOOD!
Now, I’m off to see what you’ve been doing . . .
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time. The awesome co-hosts for the May 4 posting of the IWSG will be Kim Elliott, Melissa Maygrove, Chemist Ken, and Lee Lowery!
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
Twitter hashtag is #IWSG
Hello! So impressed with your body of work. Very inspiring. Thank you for co-hosting and giving us that relatable list of highs and lows. Best wishes.
ReplyDeleteRight back atcha!! Happy Sunday, happy writing day!
DeleteThanks for co-hosting. I enjoyed reading your list of highs and lows. I think you nailed a lot of them for writers and authors.
ReplyDeleteWe're all in this crazy world together. Thank, Natalie!
DeleteQuite a list of highs and lows. Wishing I could emulate a few of your highs! Thank you for cohosting this month!
ReplyDeleteI give you permission to try any of them you like!
DeleteHaving a similar book come out before yours must really suck.
ReplyDeleteThanks for co-hosting today!
Talk about wind leaving your sails! Thanks for inviting me.
DeleteOoh, I have another good one - LOW: falling asleep reading your own book. Been there. :-(
ReplyDeleteAnd having it hit you in the face! The ultimate insult.
DeleteYou really nailed the highs and lows. Despite (or because of) them, you've managed to entertain us readers with fascinating stories. Keep it up. Thanks for cohosting this month.
ReplyDeleteHappy to amuse. Here's hoping for more of those highs per capita.
DeleteOo. You hit on something I didn't think about when writing my post - the social media part. I agree. I love interacting with readers and other authors, but keeping up with it sometimes feels like a chore. If I can ever quit my day job... LOL
ReplyDeleteI'm retired now but I STILL struggle with finding time to do it all.
DeleteWe're in a rollercoaster profession. Just think of it a the highs give you momentum to zip down the lows and up to the next great high.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to all of your highs and lows! Thank you for cohosting!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's been fun to meet new (to me) writers!
DeleteI completely understand the separation anxiety that comes with "the end"!
ReplyDeleteThat's why I love writing a series!!!
DeleteThat was wonderful fun--and nerve-racking! My computer guru is in his 70's; my handyman (who keeps my house in shape while I write)--in his 70's. My editor--wise enough to be in her 70's. Yikes!
ReplyDeleteI lost all of mine when we moved across the state. Having a geek posse is a wonderful thing.
DeleteThanks for co-hosting this month. I adore your list of highs and lows. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteIt was fun to write. Kind of a reality check in appreciation.
DeleteI LOVE the format you used to create your list. I was laughing out loud at a few of them, remembering. I could relate to so many of them. And, I almost used that photo for my blog. LOL Great minds!
ReplyDeleteIndeed!!
DeleteWonderful post! I can 100% relate to all these highs and lows--except the bit about agents & editors, having taken the indie route. Here's to a May full of highs. Thanks for co-hosting!
ReplyDeleteI'll drink (my ice tea) to that!
DeleteYour title already had me nodding at today's question. Guess writer's are addicted to those rollercoaster rides. Thanks for co-hosting!
ReplyDeleteGive me the boring peddle car anytime over those big ups and downs!
DeleteOh yes.. Those are some highs and lows for sure!
ReplyDeleteThe only thing you can count on - what goes up . . . must come down. And vice versa.
DeleteWow! I like how you listed the highs and lows; as in the feeling you get when you swing too high and the frame rises and slams back down. The thought of four uninterrupted hours to write made me sigh ;-) Thanks for co-hosting!
ReplyDeleteIt makes me sigh, too. That doesn't happen very often in the real writing world.
DeleteYour list of highs and lows is very emotional. I can relate.
ReplyDeleteI'm passionate about my writing time!
DeleteLove your highs and lows list and the comparison to the ebb and flow of the earth's rotation. Thanks for co-hosting.
ReplyDeleteAlways a pleasure, Sandra!
DeleteAnd Microsoft always picks the wrong time to update!
ReplyDeleteLOL! I know, right!
DeleteYour comment about other authors who wrote similar stories struck a chord. When I get a new idea, I Google the heck out of it before starting, but no matter how thorough I am, partway into the project I'll see a book at Indigo that sounds a lot like mine. Sigh. It makes me think I'm not as creative and original as I'd hoped.
ReplyDeleteThere are no new ideas . . . only new interpretations. How you develop them is what makes them yours!
DeleteLoved your post, Nancy! The image of the rollercoaster captured how I often feel as a writer and as a person. Thanks for co-hosting today! May those downs level out a little!
ReplyDeleteAs much as I enjoy the rush, a nice even day is appreciated!
DeleteI love the way you contrasted the highs and lows. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Yvonne!! May yours be more high than low!
DeleteYou certainly nailed it with your list of highs and lows. Especially the one about having uninterrupted time to write. If nature abhors a vacuum, she equally abhors uninterrupted writing time, eager to fill it with all manner of interruption. All we can do is shrug a 'whatever' and get back to it. Thanks for co-hosting with me today!
ReplyDeleteI often told my boys that unless they were on fire it wasn't an emergency during my writing time. Surprise surprise, they were never on fire!
DeleteOh my. I recognize this rollercoaster for sure. Luckily, we don't let those lows keeps us down!
ReplyDeleteThe worst is being at the bottom just rocking back and forth trying to get momentum built back up - been there! Dont need to revisit.
DeleteI can relate to so many of these! The one thing I've never experienced is separation anxiety. My characters never leave. They're constantly in my head with new things going on. Always more stories to tell... Thank you for co-hosting!
ReplyDeleteI always have voices-old and new. It's when they grow silent when old friends you start listening to a new one. I miss them.
DeleteLol on getting a call from a friend to dump about family drama. Word. Your post reminds me of that Journey song. -The wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'- Thank you for co-hosting!
ReplyDeleteNow that song is going to be in my head all day! Good thing I love Journey - taking it and and listening to it.
DeleteAs far as the separation anxiety part goes, I guess you'll just have to write a sequel so you can be with your friends again. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for co-hosting IWSG this month!
Did I mention how many series I have! One has eleven books!
DeleteI love the pictorial representation you picked to signify the 'Highs' and 'Lows'. Some of them are very relatable, I must say.
ReplyDeleteThe Universal Highs and Lows of being a writer!
DeleteThanks for co-hosting this month. I had to laugh at your last one, even if it did hit home. "Having four hours to write uninterrupted and Getting a call from an old friend who needs to dump about family drama." Life can be so frustrating sometimes.
ReplyDeleteIt does get in the way but often rescues you when you need a break!
DeleteI can so relate to your list of highs and lows. Okay, well mostly your lows. I have yet to find that "editor" or "publisher" who thinks my writing is as good as a hot cup of Queen Anne tea. [Lows, Victoria--that's one of your lows.]
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for co-hosting this month's question at IWSG. Have a beautiful day!
If anything can bring you out of those lows it's a good cuppa! Pour one for yourself. Don't wait for someone else to offer to do it for you.
DeleteAs I've read the HIGHS and lows of writing, I'm amazed at the common threads. And how quickly we recover. For everyone the HIGHS erase the lows. An amazing roller coaster ride.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned one low, that probably wasn't easy to forget: "...the publisher just purchased five of the same kind of books."
Thank you for co-hosting our May IWSG blog-hop
Lynn @ https://la-vita.us/
I've had that happen and the indifference of it is shattering. Timing is a big part of success and often something you can do nothing about.
DeleteCan't thank you enough for this honest, somewhat hilarious look at the writing roller coaster. Oh the fickleness of publishers! That could be a roller coaster all its own. Thanks so much for co-hosting this month!
ReplyDeleteIt's always a pleasure and so rewarding!
DeleteMicrosoft updates! I had not considered it, but you are SO RIGHT. I dread that stupid "Updates needed" notification! Definitely a low.
ReplyDeleteHurry up . . . and wait!!
DeleteI've experienced several on your list--and I couldn't agree more. Enjoy your writer's getaway--and happy Moms day to you!
ReplyDeleteBoth were wonderful! Thank you! Now . . . back to that book.
DeleteLove your list of highs and lows--they definitely resonate. I hope your writer's escape was both productive and relaxing. I'm jealous!
ReplyDeleteWords were happening . . . now to continue that momentum!
DeleteSounds like you've got the highs and lows figured out. Here's to hoping you encounter more of those HIGHs and fewer of those lows! (Also avoiding real-life drama because that's ever so tiring.)
ReplyDeleteThanks for co-hosting!
Thanks for co-hosting this month!
ReplyDeleteHigh- starting a new story idea
Low- shelving new story idea to work on current WIP/shelving current WIP to start new story idea
It's an endless cycle.