Sunday, December 16, 2007

The Writing Life

I’d planned (and, in fact, wrote) a rather bitchy blog entry about heroines who are too slutty to like but you know, I find myself not in a bitchy mood right now. Maybe it’s the holidays (I know that seems counterintuitive to some but I’m 95% done with my Christmas shopping) or my impending vacation to Fiji and Australia, but I’m feeling pretty mellow and content with being a writer.

Being a writer is great job. It’s not a perfect job because, well, it’s a job. There are edits you don’t agree with, covers you can’t control, and the daily possibility of rejection. But on the whole, it’s a good job to have (i.e., nice work if you can get it).

The thing I like best is I get to fantasize and call it work. If I want to spend a few hours in bed on a Saturday morning, I can easily justify it as working out my next story (because truly, I do my best thinking flat on my back). I work and rework scenes until clever dialogue sounds natural and my non-gay hero can find a reasonable excuse to lock in a passionate with another man.

As a writer, I get to spend time with interesting people…other writers and those voices in my head who’ve kept me entertained since I was sixteen and trying to make it through geometry without falling asleep.

On top of all this, I have fans. Real fans. People actually send me emails to say how much they like my stories. Surprised the hell out of me the first time it happened and still, with each message, I’m comforted and soothed by the reality that someone out there (hopefully many someones) understood the story I was trying to tell and they liked it. It’s a thrill for authors to get these messages. And a global thanks to those who’ve written.

So, I’m going to save the bitchy blog for a later date (but be prepared because it is a bit of a rant) and just say, I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season. Don’t let stress spoil it. Enjoy it!

4 comments:

Ruby Storm said...

Hey Tielle!

LOL - enjoyed your post. You're so write...er right. Writing is great work. Had to chuckle about lying in bed for a few extra hours and calling it work. That's SOOOO true. I do the same thing. It's like if I can cuddle up under a blanket in a very quiet room, I can work out plot problems that I couldn't get a handle on while sitting before a computer screen!

Ruby

Titania Ladley said...

***because truly, I do my best thinking flat on my back

LOL, couldn't help focusing in on this, but okay, okay, I'll be good and not bite. *eg* Instead I'll agree that it's the same for me. I come up with solutions, new ideas, plots, characters, titles, all kinds of stuff when I'm drifting off to sleep or just waking up. (Gotta keep that notepad nearby.) There is something to be said for meditation and relaxation, and their role in freeing up the creativity and muse. I think for me at least, it's at least partly why I also need absolute quiet when I'm working---no TV, no music, no outside noises or even people anywhere in the house. Great post, Tielle, and with the holidays just around the corner, I'm glad you saved your bitchy topic for later. :) Have fun on your vacation.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Titania

Cait Miller said...

I have to agree with you about the emails from fans, I'd write for this alone...but don't tell my publisher, LOL!
Cait

Anny Cook said...

Wonderful blog. I'm one of those reader, too. Read your stuff a long time before I became a fellow writer and I've discovered the truth of those words for myself.

Enjoy your vacation! I'm soooo envious. I think.