There’s more than one way to skin a cat…or write a book for
that matter.
There’s an old saying, at least in the south, “There’s more
than one way to skin a cat.” Thankfully, that is of course, just another way of
saying that there are multiple ways to accomplish the same goal.
During the writing/publishing process, I’ve had the honor of
getting to know many authors. As a result, I’ve learned that we ALL do it
differently. Some spend countless hours outlining their books from start to
finish. While others, like me, have a general idea of where the book is going, but
we basically write from the hip.
As with anything else, these two methods both have their ups
and downs. For me it doesn’t get any better than “getting in the zone” and
letting the characters do what they will. On the down side, sometimes they don’t
do anything at all and I wind up sitting at my computer watching the cursor
blink.
During these times, I do what all good writers do and I get
on facebook or other social websites to see what’s going on in the world. Of
course when I see fellow authors talking about how they reached their goal of
writing 3,000, 5,000, or yes even 10,000 words in a single day I want to slam
my head on the keyboard and rethink my method of writing.
Truth is, no matter how you do it, a career in
writing can be both fulfilling and frustrating. So here’s to you all of my
awesome and creative writing friends, *lifts glasses of chocolate milk to all*
Whether you’re on a roll or staring at the evil mocking cursor, thank you for
all that you do, after all I’m a reader too.
