“Reading usually precedes writing and the impulse to write is almost always fired by reading. Reading, the love of reading, is what makes you dream of becoming a writer.” ~ Susan Sontag

I love that quote because it’s so true. Writers are readers. We were readers long before we were writers. The irony here is that once you become a writer, you have less time to read. And if you’re like me, when you don’t read, your writing suffers.

I can always tell that I’m not reading enough when my writing turns flat. It’s almost as if I’ve forgotten how to write. And I can tell what I need to be reading based on what element of my writing has turned flat. When the romance in my manuscripts is overshadowed by the plot, I know I need to read more romance. When the suspense in a manuscript dies, I dig out a thriller or suspense novel. When my descriptive abilities amount to writing, “the gray mansion looked scary,” I know I’d better sit my butt down with a nice historical.

I also adore books on craft. A good one can spark a fresh bout of creativity and really help get my writing back on track.

The best cure, though? Going back to my roots and reading the authors who got me interested in writing in the first place. Stephen King. Jack London. Robert Jordan. Linda Howard.

What about you? Do you remember THE BOOK or THE AUTHOR that made you sit up and say, “I can do this. I need to do this.”?

I was twelve. And it was Stephen King.

“A word is not the same with one writer as with another. One tears it from his guts. The other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket.”

It’s mid-week reporting time again. How’s everyone doing?

The act of writing
bears something in common
with the act of love.

The writer,
at this most productive moment,
just flows.

He gives of that which is uniquely himself,
he makes himself naked.
Recording his nakedness in the written word.

Herein lies some of the terror
which frequently
freezes a writer.

Sidney M. Jourard

I found this quote and really loved it, because it describes so beautifully that which paralyzes so many of us during our writing journeys—that naked fear of not being good enough, of not being as good a writer as Writer X, Writer Y, Writer Z, blah blah blah.

Unless you’re utterly narcissistic, there’s no harsher critic than you of your own work. But you have to let go of the fear of failure (or quite possibly, the fear of success, which is another topic for another day).

Write because you love it, because it’s burning inside you to be free. Write because you were born to do this, because if you don’t you’ll explode.

Write because its who you are.

And write naked. Let everyone see the true writer in you.

“The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.”

Everyone back to work after the long holiday weekend? Or everyone still in a food coma?

“Writing is the flip side of sex– it’s good only when it’s over.” ~ Hunter S. Thompson

Oh, man, how true that is.

I love to start a new project, when the plot and characters are all shiny and new. I love to explore the world, the little nuances that make that story different from every other one I’ve written.

About 3/4ths of the way through, I’m ready to move on to something new. The last quarter is torture. And then when it’s done, there are revisions. Lots and lots of revisions. It can be torture. But writing those two sweet words, “The End”?

Pure, orgasmic bliss.

Nothing feels better than finishing a story, and it’s that feeling that keeps me writing on days when I’m tempted to set aside the manuscript I’m working on and start writing something shiny and new.

Thing is, I didn’t always have the kind of discipline needed to go that extra mile and finish a project. Know what it took to actually FINISH a story? I entered a contest, and when I won, I had to submit the entire manuscript. I did finish, and though that manuscript didn’t sell, I got some excellent feedback from the editor.

And I got the added bonus of getting that I-Finished-The-Story high. Before that, I’d started about a million stories, none finished.

So if you’re like me, you get sick of a project and want to start something new, keep in mind that the words “The End” are some of the most satisfying words ever.

Now get to writing. I want you to write The End.

Go. Now.

Confession: Next Monday I’m starting in with the sweating. I know I’ve been late, but between getting married, finishing an anthology, and doing the revisions for my last book, the timing wasn’t right for me. I’m so looking forward to getting back into the actual writing. For me, the writing is the fun part (almost as fun as the “going into the bookstore and seeing my books on the shelves” part). Editing is no fun at all for me. And yet, none of these things can be neglected. They all work hand in hand.

I’ve been so happy these past few weeks to know that I have friends and colleagues who have been available to dispense advice, help out when things got too hectic (thanks, Alison!), and just hold my hand when I got whiny. (Which was a lot.)

Writing can be a very lonely profession, even when you’re doing the “fun part.” It’s just the writer, alone in front of her computer or her pad and pen. I love writer communities, like this one, where the participants have a common goal. It makes me feel less alone, as if we’re all working toward something together. It was amazing to come back from my wedding and see my inbox crammed with congratulations from my fellow Sven sponsors, many of whom I haven’t even met in real life!

Even though we each have our own goals (our own books, our own speed, our own little problems with the project), a group like this makes me feel like we all have a common goal, as if writing books is somehow adding to the bulk of story in the universe.

And that is undoubtedly a good thing.

So as I sat down to Thanksgiving dinner last night, and reflected on what it was that I was thankful for, one of the things on my list was that I was friends with so many other writers — people just like me, who loved stories and wanted to see more storytellers out there. People who truly understood the nature of my profession, and can help me when I get tangled in some part. I don’t know what I’d do without them.

What is your support system for your writing? Is it the Sven check in group? Someone else? Who do you turn to when your work flags?

For all of us here in the U.S., I hope your Thanksgiving is wonderful - and to my friends outside the U.S., well, maybe you guys could pick up the writing slack for us today? We promise, we’ll return the favor.

But seriously, do you write on the holidays? Since I don’t cook, even if we’re having whatever holiday it may be at my house (YAY for husbands who cook!) I find that I actually have more sitting around, doing nothing downtime. Which typically, I waste on puttering around, waiting for people to arrive, so yes, I could be more productive on the holiday mornings or afternoons.

Although, I guess puttering is a good time for plotting!

The best time for planning a book is while you’re doing the dishes. ~Agatha Christie

You turkeys writing any words?