This week I had intended to put up an encore of the interview I did with Rebecca, but the call to actually blog captured my attention, and since I’m a writer, I had to obey. After a few weeks of not talking about what was on my mind, I find I actually miss it. You can still read Rebecca’s interview regarding her recent release of her first book HER WOLF over on my blog http://sandrasookoo.wordpress.com/
I figure writing is a lot like life. I go through ups and downs, joys and sorrows, but in the end, it always comes back to what’s at the core of importance: writing. It’s the constant in my life, keeps me grounded, focused, sane. People come and go, there are family dramas to content with, trends fade, housework occupies my attention at times, but I always come back to writing. No matter if it’s 200 words a day or 4,000, I must write. Even when I plan to take a day off, swearing I won’t touch the keyboard for a full 24 hours, I just can’t stay away. It calls to me like a siren song and I can’t resist. (I type so much the decal on the “m” key on my keyboard has rubbed away.)
My point? This week started on a bit of a stressful note. I needed to start a new short story and had absolutely no idea where it was going—and it’s under contract before being completed, which is a first for me. Wicked awesome. After plotting for awhile, an idea took shape and now I’m smack in the middle of the tale with a whole different format than what I’ve tried before. Will it take off? I have no idea, but I’m hopeful.
So, of course, while the writing is going well, fate chucks a wrench into the works by hurling a cold, empty, form rejection my way yesterday on a book that’s rapidly becoming difficult to place. Yes, rejections are annoying and thank goodness this one didn’t upset me. I read it and moved on, and sent the book out to new potential publishers—and I didn’t even need chocolate to get me through.
Being back to square one is becoming quite a comfortable scene. I’m thinking of building a modest house there…
And sometimes that’s okay. It gives me a new perspective occasionally, gives me an opportunity to catch a few things I might have missed when I travelled the path the first time because lately I’ve felt like a hamster in a wheel, running, running, always going without a clear picture of where I’m running to.
Now I feel like I have a goal in mind, for the next two years anyway, and that’s a great feeling.
This week has been busy and it’s already Wednesday. Scheduling interviews, sending out questions, writing newsletter content, promoting two books that are out now and one that will be released in September, and doing edits for a Valentine’s Day story has commanded my attention, but my first love is always the writing. The rest of the month will be full of family visiting, a vacation to Disney World, travelling and generally trying to decompress from a jam-packed year since I signed my first contract back in November. Yeah, I desperately need the down time, but I just know I’ll want to write on my time off.
I can’t help it. Writing’s my life and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
That’s all for now. Make it a great day, folks, and try to find your passion. Once you do, life will make sense. Trust me.
9 comments:
Sandi,
Wicked? Did you really just write Wicked? We're proud of you. As Walt Disney said 'Keep Moving Forward'
Rebecca
Writing is my down time. LOL I can't wait for those few quiet moments during the day that I can scribble my words on paper. (Yes, I still kill trees but I'm trying to wean myself from the habit.)
Writing is my life, too and I wouldn't want it any other way either!
Its so funny you blogged about needing to write - I blogged on the same thing yesterday at wordwranglers.blogspot.com - even though I wanted to take a few weeks off, my brain keeps urging me to write!
I'm in the same boat as Christi. I'm taking the remainder of the summer off with my school-age daughter but the ideas and the urge to start my next wip has been calling to me. Only three more weeks and I'll be able to start barring any unforeseen problems ;) I'm not saying I haven't been jotting ideas down, just leaving them for the start of the school year.
Liena~
Sandi, that is 'wicked awesome' to be contracted before the story has even begun - I like that phrase. NO chocolate! damn, your good woman. Though my comfort isn't chocolate, my hand would have dug deep into a large bag of hot potato chips.
Congratulations on your success. It is well deserved. Keep up the hard work.
Had to laugh when I read about the missing "m" decal -- me too and about six other letters. Needless to say, no one at home bothers my computer. lol So true, we writers must write. Congrats on your contracts.
Oh, I know this all too well. In the past month I've NEEDED to write so much that I've finished a novella which I'll submit to my editor once it's had some time to lie fallow and I've written a short story themed around "darkness" for my writers' guild's next anthology.
With the short story I had to get out a lot of my old demons so the process was cathartic in a way.
Thing is sometimes my characters from previous stories sit me down and say, "You have to write this for me. I must say these things."
Then I have no choice but to write.
Thanks kids. I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment. Doing a little bit of baking and am getting ready to turn over the 2K mark this afternoon :-)
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