Dear NaNoWriMo-ers:
Do you suffer from Manu-Suck Syndrome? Do you ever feel like giving up? Go through this daily checklist. See if this sounds like you... which it WILL for every writer at some point in time...then don't worry! Scroll further down for the best treatment I have to offer: Inspirational writing quotes from some of today's top authors to get you through National Novel Writing Month! #NaNoWriMo
A Day in the Life of a NaNoWriMo Writer Suffering From Manu-Suck Syndrome
- You wake up after a sleepless night full of thoughts like "I suck at writing" and "I NEED A BETTER WORD FOR SAYS" and "This book will NEVER be as good as The Hunger Games. I should quit while I'm ahead, it's the best thing I could ever do for society."
- You get your coffee. You spill it all over yourself, but that's okay, because the shirt you're wearing has a million and one coffee stains. And some chocolate from yesterday's dozen cupcakes you purchased to help stifle the pain of Manu-Suck Syndrome.
- You sit down on the couch. You open up your MS, the one that sort of burns your eyes when you look at it, and start to work.
- Five minutes later you're on twitter...talking about the new socks you just bought, or how you're thinking about eating pasta later, or checking out the twitpic of some dude in NYC wore a bikini down the street in -5 degree weather. Whatever it is, it's WAY more important than writing. It just IS, okay?! You have 30 days for NaNo. You have time.
- You start writing again. Five minutes later you're starving. Seriously, you're going to DIE if you don't rush to that restaurant you love that's an hour and a half drive away, not including traffic. It's super important. You haven't been in 3 days! So you go. You binge. And then you order dessert. Cupcakes again.
- You're finally back home. Time to write. But...but you're so tired. You take a short three-hour nap, and you DREAM about your MS. Because that's work too, isn't it? Of course it is. Who cares if it's on paper, the book is FINISHED in your head, so you don't need to worry about getting to work any time soon. You're sure everyone else on twitter hashtagging #NaNoWriMo is feeling the same.
- It's after 4PM now. Time to really get some work done. You start writing...
- ...and it's really hard. Your eyes are sort of melting off of your face, and Twitter is just a single click away and....
- ....you start banging your head on the keyboard and getting the END key stuck to your forehead. So then you have to rush your laptop to Best Buy to get it fixed.
- Dinner time. You end up sobbing into your bowl of Spaghetti-O's because every time you take a bite, the little noodles in your spoon spell "WHY?!" and it's just so painfully poetic that you lose it and rush straight to bed, where your sultry Twilight poster on the ceiling just reminds you of how pathetic you are. You can't even get a freaking vampire to love you....what makes you think you would EVER be able to finish a 50,000 word novel in a month!?
GREAT WRITERS HAVE A HARD TIME, TOO. Even the published ones!
When I wrote THE MURDER COMPLEX, I wanted to die on occasion. Writing is hard! But there's hope from today's Writing Greats to help us all along the way...to keep every writer inspired and spread the hope that YOU WILL MAKE IT! Take a while to let these quotes settle in. Then get your butt in the chair and make magic with words. I promise the end result will be totally worth it. :) Thanks to all authors for taking the time to provide me with a quote! You are all awesome!
From Megan Crew, author of THE WAY WE FALL "Doing anything well enough that you can take pride in it is going to be hard. If you love it, it's always worthwhile."
From Gennifer Albin, author ofCREWEL "Writing is pure creation. It's like pregnancy - hard, uncomfortable, ecstatic, fulfilling, but nothing compares to holding the end product."
From Lauren Oliver, author of DELIRIUM, PANDEMONIUM, LEISL & PO : "Writing is a socially acceptable from of schizophrenia!"
From John Corey Waley, author ofWHERE THINGS COME BACK:"Being original, honest, and realistic can be tough to do simultaneously, but when a reader is moved, it's all worth it. Woot"
From Leigh Bardugo, author of SHADOW & BONE: "Try to have a sense of humor about your mistakes and quirks. Laughing helps me face the page."
From Gina Damico, author of CROAK: "Because after working on a single page for hours and finally getting it right, it feels like you've WON AT LIFE."
From Wendy Higgins, author of SWEET EVIL. "Writing is a mix of imagination, determination, exhaustion, and most importantly love for your story, which makes it all worthwhile."
From Sharla Lovelace, author of THE REASON IS YOU:"Unplug! Unplug! Unplug! Stay away from shiny objects!"
From Gina Rosati, author of AURACLE: "Get off Facebook and Twitter and WRITE!"
From Kendare Blake, author ofANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD: I am so bad with inspiring writing quotes. I just keep hearing Rob Schneider screaming YOU CAN DO EET!"
From J.R. Angelella, author ofZOMBIE: "Fearlessness first, then patience. Be fearless in your writing, and be patient with the pursuit."
From Gretchen McNeil, author ofPOSSESS: "Talk hard. :) "
From Elana Johnson, author ofPOSSESSION: "Write more."
From Miranda Kenneally, author ofCATCHING JORDAN: "Just because someone says you should change something in your writing doesn't mean you should. You're smart too. You wrote what you did for a reason. Try to remember why before making any big changes."
From Kevin Craig, author of SUMMER ON FIRE: "There is no RIGHT way. There is YOUR way. Try everything until you find the way that works for you."
From Jennifer Castle, author THE BEGINNING OF AFTER: (1) "Trust your voice." (2) "The only thing that will ever stop you from being a writer is yourself."
I hope you feel inspired. Have a wonderful Holiday, and in the words of one of my best friends, KEEP CALM AND WRITE ON.
Thanks for the laugh :) And this isn't dramatic at all; it's pretty much what I go through every day. Are you following me?
ReplyDeleteLove the quotes!
I think everyone goes through it! :)
DeleteAm SO excited for Nano!!! Ah, I love the community out there and the encouragement - great energy :) WOW can't believe its Nano Eve. I've been sort of brainstorming/researching a project since May. Am suuuper excited to begin!
ReplyDeleteGreat post :)
Best,
Loie
Thanks for getting me pumped, girly!
ReplyDeleteLOVE IT!! This is my first year to try!!
ReplyDeletegood luck!
DeleteGood to see that you've chosen to include quotes from some of the most shining examples of literature in history.
ReplyDeleteLoved your blog post. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Great post. I connected with everything you said as if you pulled my thoughts out of my head and wrote them.
ReplyDeleteI found this post while tweeting (um, instead of writing) and it made me laugh so hard, well...yeah, I spilled my coffee on my shirt. HILARIOUS!
ReplyDeleteMentioned your post in my NaNo Wrap-Up #1 blog post!
ReplyDeletehttp://aliviaanders.blogspot.com/2012/11/nanowrimo-wrap-up-week-1.html
Really cool post! I admire those who are willing to do Nano..I think I would never finish on time!
ReplyDelete