This month's topic is....
Feeling lost on the writing journey
I get this feeling often and so thought it would be a good one to share with the group on my first blog back since I didn't do very good keeping up with the monthly posting in the past. Even right now I am having that lost feeling. I think part of it is that when you first looking at the idea of writing a novel there is to some degree that thought of "how hard can this be" and "how long can it really take". When I was at the second writing conference, hearing people talk about how many years it took them to get published and the average number of years being over 10 years, it was almost troubling. But the longer I go, the more I get it. But also the more lost I start to feel.
Don't get me wrong. I love writing and I don't do it just for the dream of publication. I want to write my novels and if I don't then I'll just keep getting more ideas and more characters yammering in my head and at some point that may lead to insanity (lol). But at the same time, I currently don't have a handle on where I stand on this writing path.
It's almost like that feeling of treading water and wondering how much longer I have to tread before I can move forward. I am starting to edit, so that's a good move forward but it's going to be a long process and involve more treading water. But I still hope one day I'll have a finished product I am truly proud to say I wrote.
Anyone else feel lost?
How are you feeling this month?
4 comments:
I get lost a lot. Life is a big, busy thing. I get busy with work or family, and I stray. As inertia fades, I wonder what this path is all about. Thankfully, the path hasn't been overgrown by the time I get back and I return to exploring.
I remember that lost feeling very well from when I was writing my first novel. Just keep going - you'll get lost again but you'll start learning too find your way. You have something to edit which is an achievement in itself. When you're worrying about how far you have to go spare a minute to look back and see you've already come a long way.
This intended to be encouraging ramble brought to you courtesy of a fellow IWSGer!
Tricia Clasen - Hi. Inertia fading is another good way of putting it. It's good when the path hasn't overgrown yet that you can find it and keep going and eventually move past the lost feeling.
Patsy - Nice ramble. ;-) My first couple of novel attempts were months of being lost, I remember that. A very good suggestion to step back and see how far we've come when worrying about how far we have left. Thanks.
Thank you for sharing thoughts. I know of that lost feeling. I am new to IWSG but I have been journaling and writing ideas down for a long time. It has got to the point where if I don't start getting ideas out there, I may become lost in my own solipsism. Cheers
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