I’m excited to be part of Raimey Gallant’s #AuthorToolbox monthly blog hop (third Wednesday of each month) with the theme of resources/learning for authors. Post are related to the craft of writing, editing, querying, marketing, publishing, blogging tips for authors, reviews of author-related products, anything that an author would find helpful. We share our experiences as it relates to these topics. Interviews are also permitted as long as they provide valuable knowledge for authors (i.e. advice.) Straight book reviews are not permitted unless they are reviews of books about writing/publishing/etc.
This month: Tricks of Being a Writer
At times, writing seems impossible. I wonder if I have what it takes or if there’s some critical piece I’m missing that means it just won’t ever happen. I do a lot of the right things–
- I read, a lot.
- I’m observant.
- I’m a loner (or, the flip side–I don’t mind being alone).
- I bloom where I’m planted.
But is that enough? I went in search of other traits friends who I consider successful writers have that might inform me in my endless quest to succeed in a craft that few can. I found that more is required to become that person who can proudly, eruditely consider themselves a writer:
- Writers have a selective memory–they forget the bad stuff people say and remember the good. Otherwise, it’s depressing.
- Writers are conversant with their muse. Anywhere, at any time, on any subject. It doesn’t matter. When s/he starts talking, writers listen.
- Writers are tethered to their voicemail in case that Big Call from an agent comes through. If there is no call, they check the machine to be sure it’s plugged in and working properly.
- Writers understand the importance of taking a break to do something fun, like read a book. If they are one of those unlucky folk who get writer’s block, this will suffice.
- Writers never show fear in front of their computer. It’s like a dog–it smells our distress. It’ll then do nasty things like eat your manuscript or freeze in the middle of a scene.
- Writers embrace the words of Winston Churchill: “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm”.
- Writers can be categorized as plants or sharks. Plants take whatever life throws at them, hoping to survive long enough to publish. Sharks never stop moving, always hunting. Successful writers are sharks.
- You can tell a lot about a writer by the way he/she handles three things: rejection, fame, and a change in their schedule.
- Talking about a WIP is almost like writing it, but not as frightening
- In golf, one of 14 clubs has to be the right decision. In writing, all 14 are wrong because readers want unique.
- Don’t judge a writer by what he does between the lines.
- Writers believe in the impossible, in miracles, and in Santa Claus. They will spend hours trying to literarily square the circle and consider it time well spent.
- To rephrase Voltaire: No problem can stand the assault of sustained thinking from a writer.
- Where the engineer thinks of his equations as an approximation to reality, and the physicist thinks reality is an approximation to his equations, the writer thinks it doesn’t matter if the prose are elegant.
And #15: The most prevalent trait: We are dreamers, positive thinkers, and don’t know how to quit even if it would be in our best interests. That above all else is part of the heart and soul of so many writers I admire.
How about you? What makes you a writer even if your day job title is Accountant?
More about writers:
14 Things Writers Do Before 8am
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy, the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers, and the Man vs. Nature saga. She is also the author/editor of over a hundred books on integrating tech into education, adjunct professor of technology in education, blog webmaster, an Amazon Vine Voice, a columnist for TeachHUB and NEA Today, and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. Look for her next prehistoric fiction, The Quest for Home, Fall 2019. You can find her tech ed books at her publisher’s website, Structured Learning
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It was fun reading this, please check my blog and leave some good criticism.
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Thanks for the invite!
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Reblogged this on Site Title.
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Thanks for the reblog!
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Excellent advice and yes, writers never quit!
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It’s one of the few things we CAN’T do
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My favorite is #15. Writers never quit. We keep on swimming like those sharks.
Susan Says
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And like the shark, it doesn’t seem to be a conscious choice, don’t you think?
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Hey, Jacqui, love the post. My addition is a little meme I post every year on social media:
“I’m a writer. Of course I hear voices.”
If you totally get that, you’re a writer. : )
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I do! I love it. Thanks for that thought as I struggle through edits, with too many voices.
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These are great, Jacqui. I especially like #6 — the words of Winston Churchill. 🙂
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Thanks, Norah. Being a writer is more involved than it sounds, innit.
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Definitely! The course of a true writer …
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Love every one of these, Jacqui! I think my favorites are #2 and #6. Definitely keeping this list handy 😀
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It’s a good reminder to not take ourselves too seriously, innit?
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All good points in your blog post, Jacqui. Right away, #1 hit me. Forgetting the rejections and the heartbreak when not even getting a submission accepted in a contest is pretty tough to do. But # 15 sums it all up–dreamers. I dream about my books making a difference in people’s lives, so I write on, hoping one day a person will be inspired, entertained, informed by what I have written.
JQ Rose
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Perfectly said. That is the dream and why I have forgotten all those pesky rejections. Pshaw!
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Fun read and rules, Jacqui!
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It’s been the sort of month when I need levity in my life!
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Totally relatable (that word looks weird) and very much enjoyed! Sam x
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I collected these from writerly friends so that’s probably why some are comfortable!
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A great sound up and creative responses. Wish I was better at filtering out good from bad.
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That filtering–it’s not easy. Too many layers to examine.
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Love all your points. especially #15. And oh, this writer never forgets the bad stuff. 🙂
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Bad stuff reminds us of the good stuff don’t you think?
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So true!
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Great list! I was inspired by 6-8. I like to think of myself as a shark-in-training. 🙂
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I’d like to always be a shark but many days, I am simply a plant, slowly growing, soaking up air and sun, not really know where I’m headed.
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Whoa. I consider myself a writer, so I half laughed and half groaned through your list. I enjoy my aloneness, prefer it often, so I can sit at the computer and try to put the square peg in the round hole. Sometimes it even works! I’m a positive thinker and spend my time reading (lots) and writing (lots) and don’t worry about that phone call. I decided to forego the agent – too nerve-racking and demeaning – and to go with my instinct and gut when I publish. Like you said – a positive thinker! 🙂
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What a great word for agents–demeaning. When I sit at conferences and the panel of agents explain how busy they are so we shouldn’t expect timely responses or even polite ones, it turns me off. They make the decision to make my own path easy.
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Jacqui,
I don’t consider myself much of a writer but I do enjoy my alone time to do creative stuff whatever that might be. 🙂
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I think a lot of these apply to creators, regardless what we create. We get lost in our own worlds, don’t you think?
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13 and 15 resonate with me. Great post, Jacqui.
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#15 is just us, isn’t it? We are that person.
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This post gave me a good giggle, Jacqui. Thanks for sharing.
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My pleasure. It’s important to see the light side of what can be a frustrating career!
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Love these. And the golf club analogy is apt. I never heard that one before.
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I read that in a different context and couldn’t escape connecting it to writers.
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Great post, I loved reading these. Humourous and encouraging at the same time. I think what (maybe) makes me a writer is because writing is instinctual, it’s something I do as natural and consistently as breathing. Not to say that everything I write it worth something. Even before I was capable of storytelling I used to sit and copy out my childhood books because I just loved the sensation of writing. But I definitely need to be more shark. Love the quote about success being failiaure after failure without losing enthusiasm. I’m racking up a fair few.
Great read, as always.
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Thanks, Ashley. Writing is a solitary passion. Anything that can keep me from taking it too deadly serious is good. I wanted to share all of that.
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Great post. #6 is so true.
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It is true, isn’t it? It says it all that we buy into the belief that we won’t make it until the third book.
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I know too many plants, and they’ll never succeed. They are so attached to one story and never move on. Just hit the publish button, people!
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You are so right. Perfection is not a shining star. It’s a black hole.
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These are great. #3 is particularly funny.
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My phone sits right by my computer. I don’t like muting it either. Who knows, right?
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Number 5 cracked me up. I’ll never look at my laptop the same way again. 🙂 Great post, Jacqui!
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Most writers I know live in fear of their computer destroying their WIP. Me, I back it up about four times. And still, I’ve been down to the last backup at times.
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All fourteen are wrong – funny!
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That’s one way to look at it!
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I think Churchill got it right. Writers must keep going, scabs on knees, blisters on the brain – keep going until the book is done.
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Yep. A lot of good comes with a foundation of failure.
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LOL I totally fail at #5. I saw fear all the time, maybe that is my issue. I should work on my poker face better in hopes of not hitting the road blocks I’ve faced.
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Even when I think I’ve beat my computer into submission with redundant backups and mirror images, it seems to win. Don’t know how it does that.
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“Writers never show fear in front of their computer.”–Haha. That one’s my favorite!
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This has been a particularly bad tech month for me so I’m well beyond fear.
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Nice. 🙂
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I really need to work on No. 4. Great list!
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It helps if you work out of the house. For example, I’m thinking about a break right now!
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I enjoyed the list. You made me smile. Great post.
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I like hearing that,d Juneta.
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Jacqui, an inspirational post with words of wisdom, mixed with amusing tips. Writers just have to listen to that muse and point five is so true alas! I still remember the day I thought I’d lost my manuscript! Your down to earth alive makes it easy for all writers to relate to this post and ensures we believe it is possible! 😀
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Losing a manuscript might be more than any of these tips could get beyond. That is horrid.
It took me forever to friend you on LinkedIn because of my lost computer and then my broken one. I’m nominally back and hope to stay that way!
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Jacqui, at least I found the ms again and instantly started using all your fail-safe devices of emailing to myself, saving on cloud etc. When my son was finishing a huge piece of course work my daily refrain was ‘have you saved everything?’
Many thanks for befriending o LinkedIn … I’m trying to sort out some of my other social sites and realised I’ve left this one to gather dust. Are you getting a new computer soon? It can’t be easy having neither that nor a laptop. Best of luck with your tech problems and hope they sort soon.
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These are perfect!! No. 12 is especially true. Of course, there’s a Santa Claus.
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I should have put a PG rating on that hint.
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Just the reminders I needed today! 🙂 Thanks, Jacqui. Sharing…
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I love writers. We are so balanced, and these are some of the reasons I came up with.
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I wish I could say all those things were true for me. ;-P
Anna from elements of emaginette
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Well, they don’t have to all be true. Just a few. What would you add?
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There is more than a few… just not all. 🙂
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These are great tips. Thanks for sharing!
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We writers are an unusual bunch, don’t you think?
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Thanks for the inspiring words Jacqui.
Writers follow their gut, they can digest all criticism with elan, they know the stormy sea would calm down and the sun would shine again. 🙂
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No truer words, Balroop. And we always have our writing to fall back on.
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Excellent!
I totally agree with #15.
And I like Winston’s quote a lot too.
Right now I’m going to attempt to contact my muse. See you.
Neil
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I kind of live by Churchill’s paradigm above. Life is too short to let failure get you down.
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Reblogged this on quirkywritingcorner.
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Thanks for sharing this!
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Reblogged this on lampmagician and commented:
Great tips and honest advice. Thank You 🙏❤🙏
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Thanks for reblogging. Much appreciated.
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And I am much honoured 🤗❤🙏
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That was good for many a chuckle.
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I can’t ask for more!
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I love this post so much. Thank you 🙂
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Thanks, Erika. It helps me to look at the light side of things. The alternative is way too serious!
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all 15! what makes me a writer? – the art of procrastination … 🙂
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So that was #16! I knew I missed one.
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I had to chuckle at the reference to a computer smelling fear.
This was a great list, Jacqui. Number 15 really wraps it all up well!
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I agree about #15. I’ve tried to quit and it just ain’t gonna happen. Sigh.
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Right there with you, LOL!
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Great list and advice Jaqui. It can be hard work to be a writer so some of the listed
tricks will help with laughter becoming an ingredient.
I loved no. 6 and 10.
miriam
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Yes, I agree. I definitely don’t take myself seriously, which helps me tolerate what sometimes passes as life.
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A terrific list Jacqui. I like number 15 best. I also consider writing a terrific therapy for good mental health.
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Good point, Brigid. I agree. That escape–it feels good.
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Fun post 🙂
I have a selective memory, but it’s more about forgetting anything I’m not interested in than anything bad ^^” (And my voicemail is permanently unplugged as I don’t do phones xD)
I think what makes me a writer is I never stop daydreaming. My characters, and other people’s characters, follow me everywhere!
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Me troo, Louise–about my characters following me everywhere. Do you feel odd about that? Or better, do your friends find it odd or just You–Louise, the writer?
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Nah, I’m too used to it for it to feel odd, it’s been that way since I was a kid 😀 And most of my friends are writers anyway, so it makes for very crowded get togethers xD
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#12 – yes! LOL That is so true. 😀
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Isn’t it? That’s the geek part of us. We love problem-solving.
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Yes, for sure!
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I love #6!
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It was nice to see that sentiment in print. Behind every success is a plethora of failure. Love it.
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Hi Jacqui – excellent ideas … all so right and ones we need to remember in daily life too – people so often haven’t allowed themselves to explore what we can do – I fell into that category till I started blogging. Two things you mentioned … opening our eyes and trying out things, as too always being positive … just being upbeat on a day to day basis – people will always engage because we energise them … and are not imparting negative ideas, or putting them down … thanks for this – great tips. Cheers Hilary
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Agreed, Hilary. Age helps with that. I no longer think there’s a magic wand that will fix my future. I have arrived and it is what it is. And that is fine.
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