Tag Archives: Writing

Enough to Read

Posted in quotes, writing by

I was reading some reviews on GoodReads the other day, and I came across the profile for B.J. Novak.  On his page there were some questions people had asked him and as I browsed through them, I came across this:

(Feel free to ignore the random stuff in quotes since that refers to a previous commenter.)

novak

Wow.  Ain’t that the truth.

People DO have enough to read.  MORE than enough.

So why do it?  It kind of goes back to what I wrote last year in my post Why I Write.  I have to write.  It’s not really a choice for me (if I want to stay sane).  Writing is hard, but (not including being a mom, of course) it’s the only thing I really want to do and the only thing that makes me feel truly alive and fulfilled.

People don’t really need more books.  Even if you’ve got the most unique voice to ever hit the planet and your mind is overflowing with the next dozen Great American Novels.  People just don’t NEED it.  They’ve got enough to read.

So if you want to write, you have to do it first and foremost for yourself [myself].  Because you [I] want to.  Even if you [I] have to force yourself [myself] some days.

The end result is worth it.

And, on that note, I absolutely LOVE Neil Gaiman’s advice on how to easily become a writer.  Especially the part about Fox in Socks.  Because if your kids are like mine, as soon as you hit the last page and are silently praying thanks that you’ve survived it without your head exploding, your kids will request that you immediately reread it.

And that right there takes some REAL talent.

Roaming Rosie Signature

 

Save

A History of Noms de Plume

Posted in musings, writing by

I just had to share this infographic!

This stuff is fascinating.  Obviously I knew some of these facts – but I still learned SO much by reading this.

And – I’ll have it known – I’m seriously considering changing my pen name to Secretary to the Emperor of the Moon.

Printerinks-Whodunit

I’d love to hear any stories of pen names that you’d like to share!

Roaming Rosie Signature

(photo credit:  http://www.printerinks.com/a-history-of-noms-de-plume-infographic.html)

Is It NaNoWriMo Already??

Posted in writing by

IS It NaNoWriMo Already??

My heavens – it snuck sneaked snuck up on me!

I mean, it’s not like I officially signed up or joined the club or anything, but I HAD hoped to put out a seriously amount of writing this month.

Grab the proverbial bull by the horns as the internet explodes with the enthusiasm of my fellow wordsmiths.  That sort of thing.

Not that I expected to hit 50,000 words.  It may be National Novel Writing Month, but I already knew I wasn’t going to write a novel.

Not right now anyway.

My focus at present are my children’s books.  I did post a couple on Amazon, but there are so many more than need tweaking.  And rewriting.  And starting.

Writing 50,000 words worth of kids books in a month would be akin to a miracle.  But maybe as I reach for the stars I’ll, you know, trip over my own feet and land with my nose smack dab in my notebook while my pen jabs itself into my ear and bellows, “Write something, dammit!”

Or something like that.

Either way, I figured some motivation might help.  I recently made a post about You Should Be Writing memes, but they’re … well … they’re distracting.

So here’s one that’s a little more serious:

You Should Be Writing. Misery

What d’ya think?  Help your motivation any?

What do you plan to write this November??  Share, please!  :)

Roaming Rosie Signature

You Should Be Writing

Posted in wanderings in the world & web, writing by

You Should Be Writing

This is a reminder I constantly need.

Luckily, I’m not the only person who gets distracted.

Or, should I say, the only fangirl who gets distracted.

So I’ve put together this collection of posters for motivation.

You’re welcome.  :)

You Should Be Writing

You Should Be Writing

You Should Be Writing

 

You Should Be Writing

 

You Should Be Writing

You Should Be Writing

You Should Be Writing

You Should Be Writing

You Should Be Writing

You Should Be Writing

You Should Be Writing

You Should Be Writing

You Should Be Writing

You Should Be Writing

You Should Be Writing

You Should Be Writing

You Should Be Writing

I hope you’ve found some inspiration amidst the gorgeous distractions.

But seriously:  shouldn’t you be writing?

Roaming Rosie Signature

Why I Write {a work forever in progress}

Posted in musings, writing by

snoopy writing at typewriter

Just a few days ago I found myself sitting across from a man that helps people find suitable career paths for a living.

He asked me:  “If you could do anything, what would it be?”

“I’d be a writer,” I said, without even the slightest hesitation.

Because that has ALWAYS been the goal.

When I was about ten, I began writing a, ahem, novel.  It was probably a dozen pages long.  But it was a start.  And I promised myself – promised – that I would have my first novel published by the time I turned eighteen.

Yeah… and then, sometime in my twenties, when I still hadn’t managed to finish any of the novels I’d started, I extended that deadline to my thirtieth birthday.

Which came and went years ago.

So what the hell happened?  I mean, I’ve never completely stopped writing:  I wrote a ton of poems and short stories in college (NONE of which were ever accepted to any of the literary magazines to which I submitted them – yea for motivation…), but I just don’t seem to be on track with my goals.  Why?  What’s happened that’s gotten in my way of pursuing the one thing I believe I was put on this earth to do?

For starters, I don’t write enough.

That’s really one of the big reasons I started this blog.  Sure, I love, love, love posting about recipes and crafts and kid toys (no, really, I do), but if nothing else, it forces me to sit at a keyboard and put words together.

But sometimes that’s easier said then done.

Boromir: One simply does not start writing without coffee.

For example, coffee is very important.

If there’s not enough coffee surging through my veins, then I don’t really function.  But that can also pose a problem since I get my best writing done at two in the morning.

Well, that and having to get up with my kids when the sun rises.

So, why do I bother?

Why do I keep trying?

you write because you need to write quote

I keep trying because I have to.

And I know I’m not alone.  If the advent of internet memes has taught me nothing, it has taught me this:  I am not alone in my literary torment.

The procrastination gene goes hand in hand with the writing gene.

So, at this point, I haven’t given myself a deadline for completing (or publishing) my next novel.  Mostly in an effort to avoid sobbing fits of devastation.

Instead, I have promised myself to write every day.

I mean, I’m aware that some days there will be very little or no writing done because I will be too busy controlling the beautiful but consuming tornado that is my toddler and preschooler, but I still promised myself I would try.

It’s kind of like a New Year’s Resolution – but for the rest of my life.

How hard could that be…

There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed. Ernest Hemingway quote.

I know I can, I know I can, I know I can.

Because I have to.  I don’t have a choice.

It’s who I am.

Roaming Rosie Signature

(sources: Boromir pic; Hemingway quote)

Writing at Night

Posted in quotes, writing by

 

lovecraft writing at night quote

Well, I guess that means I’m officially a writer.

I mean, really, I write best at night.

Maybe because it’s so quiet.  There are no distractions.  The world is silent, which allows me to slip more thoroughly into my own universe of thought.

The night is more magical.  I am more alive at night.

My writing is more alive at night.

Hell, most of my blogs are written after midnight, even if I don’t post them until the next morning.

The night is for dreamers.  The night is for writers.

The night is my time to dream, to write.  The night is mine and I am the night’s.

And mornings suck.

Roaming Rosie Signature

(source)