Forget Halloween - Writing is Far Scarier.



Why?


1) That first time you show your work to someone, breath held, eyes shut, heart knocking on your chest. Will they laugh? Smirk? Struggle to soften the blow that your work is rubbish? Be it a relative, friend, writing group or online acquaintance it takes guts to put your work out there. So, whatever the outcome, Congratulations! You’ve done the equivalent of opening your eyes in the dark.

2) That first time – lots of firsts here – you submit your story, be it one thousand or one hundred thousand words long. Why is this scary? Because the result more often than not will be a large brown envelope landing in your hall, bearing those brutal words Not for us. Yet you’ve confronted your fear, you’ve stepped well and truly into the aspiring writer’s Haunted House. One way out is the door of publication and to find this exit you must confront all manner of spooks – the dreaded synopsis, the hellish cover letter, the eternal rewrite, the shattered confidence… It takes a brave – some might say foolish person – to take this path.

3) Next you must hold your nerve and ride the two-faced ghost-train of success. You get an agent, get a contract and your day of publication arrives, yippee! But then, hello scary sales figures and alarming Amazon rankings and a devilish deadline for Book Two. And ultimately you must grapple that ghoulish question – will my contract be renewed?

4) It’s scary how writing stirs her cauldron and casts her spell on your once steady emotions. Now you feel intense envy at fellow authors who write more eloquently, get four book deals or meet Will Smith (you know who you are!) Tears are shed over rejection, high cackles let rip over positive–sounding emails or the production of an occasional bit of superb prose. Up and down, we are at the mercy of this literary mistress. Our happiness is no longer under our own control

5) The night-time terrors. Mine? They revolve around the thought that on my deathbed, I shall still be a struggling writer and a wail will escape my lips as I tot up all the hours I have pursued my self-indulgent dream, and realize that they would have been better spent achieving other things. Like getting fit. Like cooking my family nothing but home-made meals. I could have learnt to wind-surf or kept a tidier house. I could have done volumes of charity work or brought in more income. In other words… I have wasted my valuable time on this earth.


So why do we write? Is it a choice? Can we ever cast aside the demons of this pursuit? I have tried but its seductive song always lures me back, with the promise of great rewards…

Halloween isn’t scary, with its witches and zombies and ghosts. No, far scarier is being lucky enough to discover your calling, but not knowing if you will ever truly do it proud.

9 comments:

Caroline Green said...

Oh, all so true, Sam. I sometimes think we must have nerves of steel to put ourseleves out there like we do. We really ARE brave, all of us in this process.

I'm dying to know who the Will Smith meeter is...!

sarah said...

All so true...so horribly true!

Anonymous said...

Couldnt agree more. I always knew my dream/calling as you say, but it is only now that I have realised it's time to do something about it.

Starting my blog www.katecollings.blogspot.com after a suggestion from a magazine editor seemed like a fab idea at the time. Now with only 52 followers (the editor said Id need 150 before they would consider publishing it), My enthusiasm is flagging. But i keep pushing through.

I am waiting to hear from two literary agents as we speak. I will not let it be the be all and end all however and continue to write to keep me going.

Be good if anyone could become a follower to help accomplish my dream: www.katecollings.blogspot.com
xxxx

Glynis Peters said...

That is such a true post! All those hours facing our fears, only to come across more.

Please don't cancel Halloween altogether though, it is my birthday! *giggle*

Administrator said...

Caroline, i'll email you!

Good luck with the blog, Kate.

Administrator said...

Happy Birthday, Glynis - mwah ha haaa!

Susie Nott-Bower said...

So true - can particularly relate to the one about 'wasting' precious time, though I know it's not really wasting it. The waste is in procrastinating, something I am very, very practised in.
Susiex

Fionnuala said...

All true alas... Now where did I put that broom?

jmartinlibrary said...

I choose to write. I'm always skeptical of people who say they must write or die. Yes, I love to write. Yes, I pine to write. Yes, I sacrifice and face fears to write. It's still my choice. A good choice for me. Thanks for this great post. I enjoy your blog!