I wish it weren’t true but sometimes you will HATE writing your book.
I used to think that when we love our topic, we should love writing about it.
And that writing a book should be a great adventure, start to finish.
I was writing yet another draft of my novel. I had to take a walk to air out my thoughts. OMG this is so HARD, I remember thinking.
I was learning as I went how to craft a story. DUH! How would I know how to write a novel? Only by doing it – badly.
On the walk, a voice in my head replied to my whiney “It’s so HARD!” with “Yes, it’s hard. So? You can learn anything.”
Knowing book writing is hard work invited my values of learning, curiosity, and challenge to rise up. Now, for all 9 books I’ve written, whenever it got hard, I didn’t cave in. I leaned in.
Normalizing the work of writing a book is one of the biggest gifts I give my clients. And now you have it. You’re welcome.
Have you given up on your book or major body of work because you mistake the ‘hard’ work of writing to be a fault of your own?
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
OMG! I think this every single day! I wrote first drafts of two novels while I was sick as a dog and just waiting for The Call to fly to Cleveland to get a liver transplant! Well that came and went in May 2016, and I swore I’d do the rewriting THEN! I’d think how hard it would be, do some work on the first one – then stop for many different reasons. Then Covid came along – really dangerous for me – immunosuppressed to KEEP my precious new liver. Then all the fallout from that isolation, lack of stimulation. THEN I bumped my head and that turned into 3 brain surgeries and some (not a lot) of cognitive deficit. But I’m improving. And daily I think this persistent quiet thought – my books, my books, writing fiction – can I, really? I must try, that’s all I know. And that I’ve survived a lot. Just do the preparations, get ready, prepare. Then dive in somewhere. I can’t let go of my dream to publish, show up – as Austin Kleon AND Cynthia Morris would say!
Thanks for sharing your experience, Dana. It illustrates how the need/desire to write persists despite all the challenges life throws our way. You are so inspiring! Keep writing and keep showing up for your dream.
I gave up on writing the book I thought I was to write. I got so, so busy and I needed to take a break, to have time to play and reignite my senses and my passion. Without my senses my creative juices begin to slow down. I needed to recharge and nourish my creativity. I needed to learn to let go of doing and be in the space of reconnecting and reestablishing a relationship to my own creative path and, with my book and to LISTEN… REALLY LISTEN! There is a season for everything!
So, a course correction occurred. The journey of all of the above over the Summer and into September allowed me to slow down enough to hear what was wanting to be heard and to allow that to come into awareness. The book I was trying to write was an “outdated idea” for me. The book was evolving into something deeper, with more clarity and more relevance. I needed time for three distinct aspects of what I am writing about to come into my awareness and rise up into a kind of integration. Now, I can speak clearly and coherently about what my book is about. And, I can speak from my heart about it and it’s relevance for these chaotic times. Now? I am ready to begin again.
But, H#@! yeah! I went through self-doubt and self-blame for not being able to write about something that I feel so deeply about. I thought, for a bit, that something was wrong! With me! Why could I write about so many other things but not my book?! I even toyed with the idea that “I am not a writer!” But, I knew that was not true!
Normalizing the journey of writing a book and the challenges that can surface is exactly what I needed to hear and acknowledge. I had this idea that it should flow easily ans effortlessly! The truth is there are times of ebbs and flows. And, even when the going becomes challenging, I can listen and allow,
especially when this is hard to do because I can!
Christina,
What a great cycle you went through! Thank you for taking the time to share it here. Your experience shows what I believe – there is no ‘block’, only a misalignment with what’s current and true about your creative projects.
You took the time to step away from ‘doing’ and into listening. So wise! I love what was revealed for you. Keep using that process of listening and trusting the ebbs and flows and your book writing will be so much more joyful.