I’m sitting here at the “office”—aka Starbucks—thinking of ways to kill a character. This character is particularly villainous, so it has to be good. I don’t want it to be as simple as a stab wound or a gunshot.
It occurs to me that if someone saw my search history, they might think I’m planning a murder.
So, I’ve decided you have to be a little crazy to be a writer. It must be a fine line between creativity and lunacy. Think Van Gogh, Sylvia Plath...
You have to be able to think up original stories that normal people just wouldn’t imagine. Normal people won’t picture how to kill off a character in their mind. Normal people won’t research weapons and ways to die in order to avoid sounding like an idiot in that particular scene.
So, I’m a little cracked. And stubborn. Let’s be honest, they kind of go hand in hand. You have to be crazy to continuously showcase your work to the masses where you will receive good and bad criticism. That kind of exposure is a little foolish. It’s like going to school naked every single day. People are going to look and judge.
To be a writer, you have to be persistent. Rejection is lurking around every corner. If you’re not prepared to accept that you’ll hear “no” a lot more than “send me more,” you’re in for a big surprise. This kind of persistence borders stupidity (crazy). If a child burns their hand on a hot plate, they’ll think twice before touching the next one. If a writer gets rejected, they just keep writing.
And writing a book doesn’t mean you’re finished with it. You have to edit it a thousand times. You need your publishing package all put together with a query letter, pitch, logline, long synopsis, short synopsis, and outline. And let’s be honest, if a literary agent shows interest and asks you to harness the sun’s power…you’ll find a way to do it.
For me, the crazy/untraditional way my brain works provides me with what I need to be a writer. I’m a dabbler, a Renaissance woman, who requires a challenge and a change of cerebral scenery on a regular basis. It’s why I studied literature, organic chemistry, biology, art, etc. It’s why reading and writing are my favorite things to do. I have several books in progress and even more stories suffocated by my meninges, searching for a way out. My imagination is in charge of the scenery.
The hodgepodge of information floating around in my head is the perfect catalyst for my stories. Writing forces you to pull from within yourself and present it to the world. It also forces you to research something new to keep things intriguing. If all writers wrote about main characters with the same profession, books would get boring. How many billionaire romance novels are out there? It’s getting old, isn’t it?
So instead of forcing myself to buckle down and get a traditional job, I’m embracing the knowledge and skills that I have to pursue my dream first (there’s a deadline…I can’t be a stay-at-home mom forever). I’m crazy enough, persistent enough, and willing to put in the work.
Check out my current projects, and please share! ;)
(Yup...that's me in a Chewbacca onesie--crazy ;) )