Taking my own advice

By: Meradeth Houston on 1:52 AM

A few days ago a friend of mine asked me how I write. Now, this caught me off guard. I don't tell much of anyone that I write, mainly because it's just one of those things I'd rather keep to myself. (Now, if I had a book deal, I'd be singing from the rooftops, but, yeah...) Anyhow, he's read one of my manuscripts, and decided that he'd like to try his hand at writing a book. Personally, I think he's got some great potential stories, as he's lived through things that I can't even begin to imagine, but I'm rambling. So, I wrote him back and basically said: just do it. Yeah, I know, I'm knocking off Nike, but it's a good phrase :)

What does that mean, though? For me, it means getting my butt in my chair and opening the WIP file. Some days this is an effort in and of itself. I might read through a few chapters, tweaking words, or noting places I'll need to go back and fix later. Before the accident, it meant 4k words a week, at least. I really worked to get them in, on top of my insane schedule, because I enjoyed it. Granted, the accident has thrown my life into a giant tail-spin. I'm finally off my crutches, but concentrating has been next to impossible. I will get back to it, but I'm cutting myself some slack until I feel a little bit more normal. So, what I'm saying here, is that if writing it what you want to do, just do it. There's no book, or article, or anyone, who is going to be able to take that step for you.

Now, revisions, that's a whole other ball of wax. I'm not going to touch that one now :)

This weekend I've got some hubby-free time. I plan on using it. I never get the apartment to myself (the one downside to having one/both of us working from home), so I'm free to turn up my music, as loud as I want, and enjoy some time with Polyandry. I'm looking forward to it!

(And, tomorrow, my query for COLORS LIKE MEMORIES is going to up dissected on Kate Schafer's blog. I think I may puke just thinking about it!)