The Trendsetter

While sitting here editing my manuscript in excruciating pain and misery, I wondered why I wrote this piece of fiction in the first place. And if you’re asking the same question like me, then you’re not alone. Rewriting, editing or whatever you name your revision process for your draft brings out all sort of emotional angst—now that you’re forced to look at your manuscript through a cold eye.

The fun of writing just ended. Now the real task begins.

And as if this is not torturing enough, the summer is at its peak. You are supposed to be on vacation, on a beach perhaps where you don’t have to think about what happens to your main characters and how she fell in the pit of conflict and if she is able to climb out from it. You feel being left behind, sweating away doing your thing, while everybody is having fun for the summer.

Then you start to ask yourself, “Why do I write?”

Every time I feel discouraged to continue revising my manuscript, I ask myself why on earth do I write in the summer—of all seasons? If you’re asking the same question, here is the list of possible answers:

1. You have something to say. I always thought I sucked at writing. It was my former editor who told me otherwise. When he finished reading my YA novel back then, he said, “Julia, you’re a writer because you have something to say. While the others have to say something.” You see the difference? You write because you have something to say, while others, well, they have to say something.

2. You love to write. This is true, I do love to write, yet, I feel so miserable when it’s time to revise my writing. Then if I’m not writing, I go bonkers. The reality is I’m hoping that when I complete my first draft that will be the end of it. No more revisions. Unfortunately, this is not the case because writing is rewriting. Sigh. There is no shortcut to becoming a writer, unfortunately.

3. You want to share your writing with others. Your blog (if you have one) showcases your writing. My blog is the testament of this. Even if the posting is sporadic, I feel antsy if I don’t write and post for two weeks. Ideally I would like to write and post each and every day, but it’s impossible at this stage. But yeah, I love to write about my writing experiences and share it with you so you can master the craft in a short period of time. Or learn something from my experience in crafting fiction.

4. You’re an avid observer before you start to plot your story. And you’re itching to write what you just observed. A writer is like a dish sponge—we absorbed everything. We’re always eavesdropping, observing people to the point we end up gawking. That’s me. And writing what I saw, heard, smell, taste and touch is just so exhilarating especially when you go up and beyond in making it exciting. Fictionize it of course.

5. Writing is like breathing fresh air in the morning. I feel suffocated if I don’t write. And when I finish the draft, I feel as if I’ve accomplished something. Call it catharsis, call it anything, it helps to just stop whining and sit down and write.

So, if you start doubting your writing quest, list the reasons on a sheet a paper. Tack it on your writing board. When you don’t feel like writing, read the list. It helps to reconnect yourself with the writer in you.

Happy writing!