Hi, Pub Crawl Readers! Let's talk sacrifice. mwahahahahaha It’s as much a theme throughout my characters’ lives and worlds as it is my own. Since my last post, on balancing (or not balancing) writing with a full time job—where I shared some general tips—I’ve been thinking a lot about—and struggling a lot with—what that means day-to-day and how I can make more time in my life for the things I want to do. A couple weeks ago, someone asked me what are the non-negotiable elements in my novel? They asked because we were discussing revisions as one does with people in their writer life and quite frankly there were too many elements on the page, some of it needed to be pulled back, and we were trying to figure out which ones. I laughed and said something like “everything is important” because of course everything I write is perfect so why would anything need to be cut (LOL). But then, I thought about it and said my characters, which was somewhat true. But the fact was, I didn’t know the real answer because I’d never seriously thought about it. Sometimes you’re so focused on writing and finishing (especially with first drafts) that you don’t stop to think about those details. You’ve got a war to wage, a love interest to kill, when do you have time in between all of that setup and worldbuilding and putting your heart and soul on the page to stop and think about which of these elements actually need to be there? You’re constantly going, going, going, much like you’re going through life, often without much intentional thought towards the heart of the story, or what to prioritize in your life. That’s what revisions are for. And maybe that’s also what mid-life, quarter-life, etc. crises are for. But that doesn’t have to always be the case— I’ve recently found in writing, much like life, sometimes knowing those non-negotiable elements upfront helps to better shape your story and give you much needed clarity. I’m one of those people who tend to say yes to everything. And I can’t even blame it on obligation. I just get really, really excited about things.* *About everything. My friends growing up called me the energizer bunny (is that bunny still a thing?). I get a big idea and I run headfirst into planning it (I get distracted easily to say the least…). Sometimes it works out great and everyone else I ramble about said idea to gets excited and an amazing thing happens (i.e. founding
Learning to Say No & Prioritizing Writing
Learning to Say No & Prioritizing Writing
Learning to Say No & Prioritizing Writing
Hi, Pub Crawl Readers! Let's talk sacrifice. mwahahahahaha It’s as much a theme throughout my characters’ lives and worlds as it is my own. Since my last post, on balancing (or not balancing) writing with a full time job—where I shared some general tips—I’ve been thinking a lot about—and struggling a lot with—what that means day-to-day and how I can make more time in my life for the things I want to do. A couple weeks ago, someone asked me what are the non-negotiable elements in my novel? They asked because we were discussing revisions as one does with people in their writer life and quite frankly there were too many elements on the page, some of it needed to be pulled back, and we were trying to figure out which ones. I laughed and said something like “everything is important” because of course everything I write is perfect so why would anything need to be cut (LOL). But then, I thought about it and said my characters, which was somewhat true. But the fact was, I didn’t know the real answer because I’d never seriously thought about it. Sometimes you’re so focused on writing and finishing (especially with first drafts) that you don’t stop to think about those details. You’ve got a war to wage, a love interest to kill, when do you have time in between all of that setup and worldbuilding and putting your heart and soul on the page to stop and think about which of these elements actually need to be there? You’re constantly going, going, going, much like you’re going through life, often without much intentional thought towards the heart of the story, or what to prioritize in your life. That’s what revisions are for. And maybe that’s also what mid-life, quarter-life, etc. crises are for. But that doesn’t have to always be the case— I’ve recently found in writing, much like life, sometimes knowing those non-negotiable elements upfront helps to better shape your story and give you much needed clarity. I’m one of those people who tend to say yes to everything. And I can’t even blame it on obligation. I just get really, really excited about things.* *About everything. My friends growing up called me the energizer bunny (is that bunny still a thing?). I get a big idea and I run headfirst into planning it (I get distracted easily to say the least…). Sometimes it works out great and everyone else I ramble about said idea to gets excited and an amazing thing happens (i.e. founding