Writers, you need this book
10/6/14 01:12![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
darkemeralds"Writers, you need this book."
That was the tweet from my friend Sue last Monday morning. Ordinarily, "Yeah, yeah, whatever" would be my response, because I have never gotten anything of out of books for writers.
I'd done a whole ritual thing the previous night, officially hanging up my keyboard and admitting defeat. I'm not a writer. I have all the free time in the world and I still don't write. I'm a fake, and it's time to quit kidding myself. Restraint is never going to get revised or submitted, and I don't have another novel in me.
It was supposed to be a relief, but it wasn't. It felt funny. I didn't like it. I went to bed saying, "Okay, Universe, you're gonna have to talk louder because I am not getting the message."
So when I woke Monday morning to find Sue's tweet, I heard the Universe talking. I clicked the link. I bought the audiobook version--right there, still lying in bed. I started listening to it on Monday afternoon.
Tuesday I put in four hours of solid revising. Ringer off, social media shut down, timer going. Via another tweet (on my 15-minute lunch break), I found a professional editor.
Wednesday, five hours. I heard back from the editor.
Thursday, nine hours. I hit the 30% mark in my revisions. I sent a sample to the editor. We struck a deal. I have a deadline.
Friday, Saturday, yesterday, today: I get up, I get dressed, I put on makeup, and I go to this new job of mine. I start at 1:00 pm sharp. I don't check my email, I don't look at my phone, I don't do chores. I write. Sometimes I come back after dinner and put in a couple more hours.
I've finished revising 26 chapters in a week.
It's like a fucking miracle.
Writers, you need this book.
That was the tweet from my friend Sue last Monday morning. Ordinarily, "Yeah, yeah, whatever" would be my response, because I have never gotten anything of out of books for writers.
I'd done a whole ritual thing the previous night, officially hanging up my keyboard and admitting defeat. I'm not a writer. I have all the free time in the world and I still don't write. I'm a fake, and it's time to quit kidding myself. Restraint is never going to get revised or submitted, and I don't have another novel in me.
It was supposed to be a relief, but it wasn't. It felt funny. I didn't like it. I went to bed saying, "Okay, Universe, you're gonna have to talk louder because I am not getting the message."
So when I woke Monday morning to find Sue's tweet, I heard the Universe talking. I clicked the link. I bought the audiobook version--right there, still lying in bed. I started listening to it on Monday afternoon.
Tuesday I put in four hours of solid revising. Ringer off, social media shut down, timer going. Via another tweet (on my 15-minute lunch break), I found a professional editor.
Wednesday, five hours. I heard back from the editor.
Thursday, nine hours. I hit the 30% mark in my revisions. I sent a sample to the editor. We struck a deal. I have a deadline.
Friday, Saturday, yesterday, today: I get up, I get dressed, I put on makeup, and I go to this new job of mine. I start at 1:00 pm sharp. I don't check my email, I don't look at my phone, I don't do chores. I write. Sometimes I come back after dinner and put in a couple more hours.
I've finished revising 26 chapters in a week.
It's like a fucking miracle.
Writers, you need this book.
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