WALK INTO A BOOKSHOP AND YOU WILL SEE BOOKS THAT YOU LOVE AND BOOKS THAT YOU HATE, BOOKS THAT WERE WRITTEN THREE WEEKS AGO AND BOOKS THAT TOOK THIRTY YEARS...BOOKS THAT WERE WRITTEN IN SPLENDID ISOLATION, BOOKS THAT WERE WRITTEN IN STARBUCKS. SOME OF THEM WERE WRITTEN WITH ENORMOUS ENJOYMENT, SOME FOR MONEY, SOME IN FEAR AND LOATHING AND DESPAIR.
THE ONLY THING THEY HAVE IN COMMON IS THAT
THEIR AUTHORS FINISHED THEM,
SOONER OR LATER.
(Nick Hornby)
My current WiP is a tease. It runs away from me when I try to pin it down. It whispers and giggles as it darts and ducks around corners. It hides in the crawl space over the garage. It hunkers down with the tortoises, growing a hard and impenetrable shell of its own. It slams doors and yells that it hates me. I am convinced it will be the death of me. Or at least the death of the little sanity I still possess.
And yet, I don't give up. I chase it. I play with it. I pet and soothe and feed it chocolate and cheese. Both my WiP and I know it wants to be caught. It wants to grow and improve and excite and entertain. It wants to be finished. It needs to be finished. And I am the only one who can do that. And I will.
This week, let's get closer to finishing something, anything. Let's not give up.
Absolutely! Never give up...
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's easier said than done.... :)
DeleteJust keep after it!
ReplyDeleteI will, and I'll get the tortoises to help me if I have to. :)
DeleteMy WIP is doing that, too. It's annoying, but eventually I'll get it done. =)
ReplyDeleteI know you will!
DeleteI've got a WIP like that! Better a lively one than a sluggish, sullen one though :-)
ReplyDeleteThat's an excellent point!
DeleteOh, good luck to you! Some books are sort of like that. I had a long streak of books that weren't too hard to finish, but I am back to a couple difficult ones. I'm trying to get some editing out of the way so I can face them without distractions...
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to clear the decks a bit, too. I keep telling myself that maybe if I can get rid of some of the distractions then I'll be able to focus. We'll see.
DeletePerhaps, if I feed my WIP chocolate and cheese, I will have better luck with it. Haven't tried that.
ReplyDeleteWell now, your ms might prefer pasta or cheesecake. They're all different. :)
DeleteGo finish and then shout it out to everyone so we can feel the joy with you.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd be too hoarse from crying in relief. :)
DeleteI'm with you! Good luck to you as you chase that tease down.
ReplyDeleteShannon at The Warrior Muse
Good luck to you, too!
DeletePerseverance is key...I know it's cliche but it's SO SO true :)
ReplyDeleteIt really is true, isn't it?
Deletewhat you described sounds like a one act play of a writer coaxing her muse/story to be written! totally pictured a girl chasing, cajoling and sweet talking a nymph from a corner or the rafters!
ReplyDeletelets do write!!
I know! I could see the scene in my mind as I wrote it. For some reason, my WiP has pigtails and freckles and is sticking her tongue out at me before she grins and runs off. :)
DeleteWell, as long as you're feeding it cheese... ;)
ReplyDeleteOh this fickle thing called writing! I have about 10 WIP's so I can pick the one that loves me most on any given day. Of course, my hubby really wants me to finish book 2 so we can publish it six months after the first, but maybe book 2 doesn't want to be written yet, eh?
Maybe your Book 2 would like some cheese? :)
DeleteI'm familiar with this sort of wrestling match. At times, I've felt like my WIP could be its own character in a story.
ReplyDeleteNow that's a funny idea - a wrestling match between us and our WiPs.... "In this corner, at 122 pages, a pile of crappy writing and flat characters, is the WiP! In that corner, is the writer who thinks she can actually publish the WiP! Ha! Now shake hands and have a fair fight...." :)
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