Self-doubt

I am my own cheerleader.  I am also my family's cheerleader.  I believe everybody should have someone who cheers them on no matter what.  Being the matriarchal maven of Clan Inman, that be me.  And I will never let me children, gbabies, or future ggbabies believe they don't have what it takes.

I raised myself a great deal of the time so I learned to be my own cheerleader.  But it took me many years to figure that out.  Now, it's second nature.  Most times, I'll do it in a humorous way.  "Let's do this, bitches!"  Knowing I am, indeed, bitches.  😂 Or muttering the Bob the Builder catchphrase paraphrased..."Can we do it?"  You bet your balls we can.  😁  It eases the pressure a bit while giving me a bit of an oomph to continue.

But self-doubt?  She's a wily fucking cow.  I'm not a regular on Twitter though I really enjoy a handful of accounts.  But it seems as though every time I hop on Twitter, I see a feed full of people who are being asked to send fulls on their first queries, and they found their dream agents on THEIR FIRST BOOKS.

Not going to lie.  I'm this meme right here.  

Oh.  Did you?  That's so wonderful.  For you.  And your first book.  Wow.  😐

Then begins the litany in my grey matter of:  "What have I done wrong?" "What part of my story is unpalatable?"  "Should I stop trying to find an agent?"  "Maybe I'll never be what they want."  

ON AND ON AND ON AND ON

And I have to shut that voice down because it won't fade away.  Oh no, friends.  It'll grow louder and louder until I can't hear anything else, and I can't let that happen.  I won't let that happen.  At book talks, I tell the audience, "Good books find a home."  And I mean that.  I wouldn't say it if I didn't.  

I'll shake myself off.  Take a few deep breaths.  Dive back in.  Because I have so many stories in me, and I'm not going to let a few stumbles along the way completely derail me.  Rah rah, Crystal.  RAH RAH

Always writing*

New beginnings

We're hardwired to inhale on December 31st and exhale on January 1st.  Welcome in a new year with resolutions and plans for a better us.  Having a whole new year stretch out before us is incredibly hopeful but also...overwhelming.

People put their resolutions out in the world for accountability, I think.  I used to ascribe to a similar way of thinking.  But the year is a blank piece of paper, and we aren't the only ones writing in our notebook.  I've switched to goals now.  I like to stick to about ten.  Jot them down.  Hang them at my desk so I can see them daily.  It's a reminder of what I'm working toward.

But I've something for all of us to remember.  January 1st isn't our only shot.  The first of the month isn't our only shot.  Mondays aren't our only shot.  New beginnings happen ALL THE TIME.  If you start something wonderful for yourself at 6pm on a Wednesday evening in March, then THAT is your new beginning.  Please don't be mired down in what this world has trained us to think is the only time to start fresh.

I have a horrid little cold right now, and I'm sure I'll start the new year with it.  But it won't last forever.  I'll be back to multi-tasking and driving myself crazy sooner than later.  Starting my new beginnings as they come to me and not giving a damn what the calendar says.

Always writing*

...Happy New Year!

Insouciance

You know.  I hadn't the faintest what that meant.  And honestly, the first time I read it in the romance I was reading, I glossed over it.
Then the author continued to use the word about every third page, and that grew old incredibly quickly.
It means, indifference, by the way.  Which is how I felt every new time I tried to start reading it again after it took me out of the story.

Word usage is key.

Using words like "had" and "very" is frowned upon.  Passive voice is not popular, either.

But...and it's a HUGE BUT...what works for some may not work for others.

There are basic issues in writing that we should avoid.  But there are also so many damn rules that need to be broken.

It's completely up to the author to set those parameters for him or herself.  Does the story flow?  Or does it pitch and roll like a ship in a storm?  Are you using the same adjectives over and over again? Does your pronoun usage become repetitive?

Shake it up, my friends!

One of the best things you will ever do is to listen to that little voice inside telling you all about the story you need to write.  And while you will literally NEVER finish editing, your job is to polish that damn thing up until you can see yourself in it.

"Don't use a five-dollar word when a fifty-cent word will do."  Mark Twain, you sly old dog.  You said a mouthful.

Always writing*

Overnight success

An oxymoron, if I've ever heard one.

Creative people, writers-singers-painters, dream of being "discovered".  You're out there minding your own, manuscript under arm, when you come across someone who just happens to read your work and offers you a six figure advance.
And you thought Cinderella was a fairy tale.

I love listening to people's stories.  The hot new artist that's been selling CDs out of his trunk for five years.  The painter who has had a brush in his hand for the past decade but just now has a showing at a large gallery.  The songwriter who has been writing for twelve years but now has a hit of her own.

It takes work.
It takes time.
It takes commitment.

I literally cringe when I see that I started my Rivers Sisters series in 2011.  SIX YEARS AGO.  And other works as well.  The last "save" date beyond five years makes me shake my head.
Time passes anyway.

Was rather a hard time for me so I understand why I didn't get back to it then.  But I DID get back to it.

You need to do the same.
Invest in yourself, and love what you do.

I'll be damned if I'm going to wait even another year to put my works out there.
It's my time.

Always writing*

You do you

Every writer has a voice.  Not only the loveliness that comes from your vocal chords but the way in which you tell your stories.
Voice is as individual as a fingerprint and as important.
Some writers are flowy while others are staccato.  Some write lovingly while others liberally use snark.  And even when writing different genres, the underlying voice will always be there.

But a word of caution:
Don't borrow someone else's voice.
Don't grab a favorite author's book to study and dissect it to use the same cadence and word usage. Don't copy what someone else has already done.  It's not flattering.  It's cheap and easy.  You'll only be true to yourself if you write what's inside you that's been given to you.  Dressing yourself in someone else's verbal garb should never happen.

I know some writers who don't read in the genre they write when they're in the middle of a story. They don't want another voice to bleed through in their work.  I'm all for whatever it takes.

Now.

It can sometimes be incredibly frustrating when you've come across a grand idea, but it's similar to someone else's.  It's hard to find something original in this day and age, especially in the Romance genre.  But it can be done.  And even if your story is similar, it'll have YOUR voice and no one else's. That makes a world of difference.

Novel idea.  When you've come across something so brilliant that you nearly weep with joy.  No one else has written anything like it.  Ever.   Excellent.  Carry on.  Don't be intimidated by the lack of offerings like your book.  Revel in them.

Being original is hard.  It's easy to slip into a writing rut.  It's harder to rock that bitch back and forth until you get some traction.
Do it, anyway.

Always writing*