One of the most difficult aspects of being a writer is self discipline. A writer is self-employed and words are the bricks they use to build the mansion of their career. There is no-one (except perhaps, sometimes, an impatient or nagging editor) to tell a writer that they must begin at this time and do this amount of work etc. The hours a writer sets, the length of time they work and the amount of work they do are entirely at their own discretion. Fabulous.
Torturous.
A writer cannot afford – quite literally cannot afford to stop writing. Every word unwritten is a dollar less in the bank. There is no justification for not working. Writing is what a writer does, so whatever comes or goes on any given day, a writer must write.
Today was one of those difficult days where, the instant I took heave and pulled up at my writing desk, I wanted nothing more than to curl up on the lounge with my cat and sleep the day away. The last thing I felt like doing was typing, let alone setting my brain into high gear to come up with a new and unique Tale for the next Volume of Telling Tales.
Oftentimes, it is when a writer least feels like writing that they produce their best work. Much akin to a chef who just whips up whatever pops into his head because he cannot be bothered today and creates a masterpiece that lands on every menu in town. It is simply the way of such things, it seems.
Most writers write well when under great stress, enduring great tribulations or simply don’t care whether what they’re writing is any good or not.
When I completed today’s Telling Tale, I fell flat, if indeed I could flatten any further than I already was. I wasn’t particularly pleased with the end result, but shot it off to my editor anyway. The worst that could happen was a thumbs down. 3850 words and four or five wasted hours… Grrrr…
It thankfully was not sent to the lions and received a very favourable thumbs up indeed!
It is not my intention to give anything away about today’s Tale, except to say that “The Journey Of Marlene” is a haunting one.
The Journey Of Marlene features in Telling Tales Volume 3!
Anika King 