Writing is a Time Suck and an Energy Drain – But I Love it

Don’t Forget Your Joy In Your Writing

Though writing is my joy, creating stories devours most of my energy and emotion. Only another writer can appreciate the complete involvement in writing. In the 1946 book “Confessions of a Story Writer” Paul Gallico wrote:

“It is only when you open your veins and bleed onto the page a little that you establish contact with your reader. If you do not believe in the characters or the story you are doing at that moment with all your mind, strength, and will, if you don’t feel joy and excitement while writing it, then you’re wasting good white paper, even if it sells, because there are other ways in which a writer can bring in the rent money besides writing bad or phony stories.”

How do you gain strength as a writer? I’d like to know. Where do you find your passion? The next question: Does that passion consume you? Do you become drained? And once your energy is drained, how do you get that energy and passion back?

As a reader, I have raced through favorite books in a matter of hours eating up the nuggets of intrigue, romance, or mystery with the same pleasure I experience consuming dark, smooth chocolate and, well, let’s stop there. When finished, I want more.

Let’s Get Back to Writing

Now this, does the reader truly appreciate the effort, time, energy, emotion, struggle and vulnerability you pour out into your books? For me, I ask, what do I want in return for my work? Why do I write, bleed onto the page, when it leaves me so exposed to possible criticism, ridicule, scorn or invasion of privacy? Oh, and let’s not forget about rejection.

Is this because I have no choice?

I have tried not to write. But I can’t stop. Stories and characters, plots and situations, settings, time frames and new worlds pop into my head constantly and demand to be heard. I carry a small notebook everywhere I go to capture the ideas before they escape to be replaced by new ones.

Couldn’t I just ignore them? If I did, what else is there to look forward to? Wikipedia defines imagination as “the innate ability and process of inventing partial or complete personal realms within the mind. It has also been proposed that the whole of human cognition is based upon imagination.”

I write because I love it. Whether readers love it or not is their choice. Paul Gallico wanted to establish contact with his readers. I do too because I have the desire to release the images in my mind and share them with my readers. This pouring out of my thoughts to someone else is a risk – like trying to establish new friendships. I might get lucky and find new friends or I might get rejected. But, I continue to write.

 47 Mind Hacks for Writers

Tell everyone about your stories. More…

Need more help brainstorm the character traits in your story? More…

Don’t forget to edit your colorful character’s story. Do you use too many adverbs? Are you using the right words to describe them? More …

Start Writing Now – This book is for the dreamers who say one day they will write their stories and become a writer. Then they forget their dreams of writing. But they can write now – write those stories now. I mean right now.

How Not To Write A One Star Novel – Do you want to create a five star novel? Learn from other writers’ mistakes and prevent yourself from receiving any one star reviews for you hard work. Here is your free e-book.

R. M. Scott Author Site